


That Time Keith Fell In Love with a Stripper

by Chiisanafukuro (makuro)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff with a side of angst, Gay Panic, Homophobic Language, Hunting, I caught the bug, I had to for the AU's AU's AU, It's too hot ya'll, Kinkashi later, M/M, Mentions of PTSD, OD mention, Plus Keith, SHEITH - Freeform, Yeehaw AU, addiction mention, also beating up homophobes/bigots, and this happened, but like everything is okay, farmer!keith, good doggos, idk - Freeform, post-hunting animal cleaning, stripper!shiro, there may be more to this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-06-18 22:39:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15496272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makuro/pseuds/Chiisanafukuro
Summary: He wanted to blame all of this on tequila. Also on Lance. In the end though falling for a stripper was all on Keith's own head.





	1. That Time Keith Fell In Love with a Stripper

**Author's Note:**

> I GOT BIT BY THE YEEHAW BUG. I usually don't post my fics/ficlets unless I'm really into them or actually end up FINISHING them but holy mother, this AU is gold. So this just poured out over the last three days. (Crit and typo pointing out are welcome and encouraged!) 
> 
> THANK YOU TO [TOFULOO](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/) / [@BUFFSHIRO](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en) FOR MAKING THIS AU. THEY ARE AN ANGEL GO SHOWER THEM WITH LOVE PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

Bar crawl had been the words out of Lance's mouth at the start of the night. Keith had been amenable to that. Drinking his way through Arus City was a great way to spend his twenty-first birthday. Enduring it in a terrible, bright pink bedazzled hat was the most humiliating part of the night. 

At least it was supposed to be. 

He still wasn't sure _who_  had seen the strip club and decided to steer the them in. His too many tequila shots brain didn't have enough wherewithal to protest. They'd been here for almost an hour now and he hadn't left the sticky table that they started at. Lance had, in true Lance form, sashayed his way to the bar and the lone female bartender in the place. Hunk and Pidge had found the buffet and were currently procuring their third round. Keith was all right with being alone at the table for a moment. The flashing pink and blue lights would crisscross over the worn Formica every few minutes, lighting up his gin and tonic before everything that wasn't the stage fell back into darkness. The gin was mellowing him back out, making it all too easy to slump a little in his seat and watch the dancers. 

One dancer, really. 

He'd done two sets now and had just come out for a third after a costume change. Costume though was a bit of a misnomer since the cloth on the man’s body amounted to a shiny midnight blue banana hammock and a pair of boots that did things to Keith's Southern Hemisphere. 

The song this round was slow, the beat hot and heavy underneath the crooning vocalist. He couldn't make out half of the words but the dancer did something with his hips against the bar each time she sang "up down up down". 

It was terrifying watching him. The man was built like a tank with a metal prosthetic arm to boot. He looked like the kind of guy who said screw the axe and ripped logs in half with his bare hands. His hair was dyed platinum and took on the hue of the lights as they followed his movements, which were soft and sinuous. Keith couldn't wrap his mind around how smooth each movement was when the man was a literal mountain. 

_Go ahead now, go ahead now_

_Go ahead now_

_And blow oh oh the bass_  

Keith gripped his drink tighter and took a long pull off of it. He didn't get interested very often, the few times someone had piqued it could be counted on one hand. This man was blowing all of those times out of the water though. Every few beats his eyes would flash to Keith and he had to remind himself that it was just the normal performance eye contact for the crowd. The stripper wasn't actually looking at Keith. 

He nearly dropped his drink when Lance crashed into his side reeking of whiskey. "Having fun?" 

"Mm," Keith hummed, doing his best to not take his eyes off the white-haired man. He didn't know when his set would be up. 

"Good. Gonna make sure you keep having fun too," Lance slurred. He made a motion with his hand that Keith didn't catch, but the stripper did. 

Suddenly the man was slinking off the stage and up to their table. Keith nearly inhaled his straw when he leaned right over the table and into Keith's space. This close Keith could see a fine sheen of sweat over the man's chest. He could smell his cologne too and his mouth started to water. 

"Hi," he said. His voice was deep and soft and _oh god_. "You're the birthday boy huh?" 

"Uh." 

He slid back off the table. and walked around to grab Keith's hand from the drink. "Follow me." 

"Uh?" Keith was pulled up, drink left behind. He cast a worried glance to Lance, begging silently for help. 

"Have fun grumpy!" Lance chirped and proceeded to down the rest of Keith's drink for him.

Keith turned back to the dancer to be met face to face with his, well, back. And that was just as muscular as the rest of him and that _ass_. Keith didn't take his eyes off of it until their surroundings had drastically changed. 

They were in a back room. There was a plush but questionably discolored chair, another pole, and a long wall of mirrors. The rest was sectioned off with black velvet curtains. The music was still as loud. 

He was sat in the chair and the man leaned forward, face much to close. Close enough to see the long thick scar across the bridge of his nose-- 

"Private show for the birthday boy," the man purred. Keith wanted to explode. 

Before he could properly die from how attractive and _close_  the man was, he was across the room and climbing the pole. The pole that was infinitely closer than the stage one had been. This close, even in the dim light of the room, Keith could now see that the man was littered in scars, the majority across his shoulders and along his right side. 

Realization slammed into him. The only explanation for marks like that, and the quality of that prosthetic, was a battle. Keith knew what laser burns looked like, he'd seen them enough on his uncles. Only one major battle against the Taelian Crime Syndicate had been fought recently. There was a very good chance this guy was a Kerberos veteran. 

 _What made a veteran strip?_ He thought, bewildered, but couldn't follow that train of thought long because the man came out of a slow spin and sauntered his way to Keith. 

The chair was wide, wide enough that another set of legs easily straddled Keith's. He tried to cant his hips back so the man wouldn't immediately come into contact with Keith's interest, but there was barely room to. 

"Rules," the man said. "No touching unless I say so. Don't take any of your clothes, yours stay on," he winked at Keith, "And either of us can pull the breaks at any time. Okay?" 

Keith swallowed. "Okay." 

He smiled. "Good. Mandatory speech is over now. My name is Shiro, feel free to use it, baby." He whipped around and Keith now had a closeup of that beautiful backside. 

"Fuck," he squeaked. Shiro chuckled and kept it up, shaking that perfect ass and pulling his hips around in slow, tantalizing circles. 

By the time Shiro came back down over his lap and started to _grind_  Keith was a lost cause. He was making awful aborted noises of want, half of which were just Shiro’s name, now that he knew it. For all that it was embarrassing Keith, the man in question seemed to not mind it one bit. 

His legs were like tree trunks. He kept flexing them as he moved along Keith's lap. One moment he was pressed close, chest to chest with way too much eye contact. The next he was leaned away, head tossed back as he brushed their crotches together on the odd thrust. Shiro's control over his body was enviable. He was twisting around the chair in ways Keith was pretty sure defied physics and several laws about decency. The urge to lick a fat stripe up a chorded calf when it nearly grazed his cheek was significant. The bugle packed into that thong was also a contender for 'place I most want to put my mouth', though to be fair Keith really just wanted to do that from head to toe and back up. 

He kept his composure through most of the lap dance, alternately drooling over the beautiful show of human prowess and thinking of all of his uncles standing right behind him to keep himself sane. The pulsating beat was winding down and he geared himself up for some kid of finish. What happened was infinitely worse than he had imagined. 

Shiro dragged his fingertips up Keith's arms and gently, but determinedly, pushed them up into Keith's hair, almost dislodging the hat. He caught it though, and tucked it back snug onto Keith's head, leaning close with a final trust right to Keith's groin. "Happy Birthday, Baby, and tell your friends thanks for the excuse to look at you for a good while too." There was a quick press of lips to Keith's cheek and then Shiro was up, off, and gone. 

Keith stared at himself in the mirror, flushed, still hard, and totally flummoxed.

"What the fuck..." 

 

He waited a few minutes to calm himself down, picturing his Uncle Antok in a tutu for most of it to reign in the desire in his veins. Once he was back down to earth he shakily stood up and left the room 

Back out in the main bar his friends whooped and cheered when they saw him. 

"Like your birthday present buddy?" Lance nearly shouted. "Saw you looking him up and down all night, though you could use a few minutes up close and  _alone_!" 

Keith turned around immediately and went to the bar for a shot instead of to his friends. He didn't need Lance's goading while he tried to stuff his heart back into his chest cavity. 

Shiro was the most gorgeous being in the universe and he'd just kissed Keith's cheek. 

"Double shot of tequila, please." He didn't even wait for the bartender’s response, just started salting his hand. 

The tequila burned its way back down his throat and he crammed the lime into his mouth. 

"I've got this one." Apparently Hunk had followed him over. "Birthday boy and all. Plus, I think this shot may be because we just bought him a lap dance. 

"Oh I know. And don't worry, this one's on the house," the bar tender said, nodding toward the stage. 

Keith turned in slow motion, heart back up in his throat. Shiro was there, leaning against the stage exit. He nodded at Keith and threw him a wink. 

Keith inhaled sharply and accidentally swallowed the lime wedge. He somehow managed to get to all the way down without choking while Hunk slapped his back. 

"That's it," Hunk soothed while Keith tried to hack up his organs. "You know, almost choking and dying in front of a cute stripper isn't the worst thing to do on your twenty-first. Plenty of worse things, not that this isn't bad I just mean that--" 

"Hunk," Keith rasped. "Shut. Up. We're leaving." 

Lance put up a fight about it, but Pidge was driving and she threatened to leave him there if he didn't get into the car. Keith had never loved her more than when she announced that they were going back to his house to keep drinking somewhere that didn't involve strippers or having to change locations. He told her as much. 

"Oh do you?" With a slick grin she turned on 'I'm in love with a stripper' and proceeded to play it for the rest of the ride back to Lion. 

 

 

Keith's twenty-first birthday would have been a great story, brought up in nostalgic moments for good ribbings. He was prepared for that to be the end of his story with Shiro, the gorgeous stripper. 

However, two weeks after that fateful night, Mrs. Michiko, the wonderful old lady who owned the local garden shop had a stroke. Keith been in the truck with his dad, the closest emergency first responder at the time, when they got the call. She'd been bundled up and put into an ambulance for Arus city right away, looking weaker than Keith had ever remembered seeing the woman. Michiko was a an institution unto herself in Lion and there was no small crowd watching the ambulance take her away. 

They got the word the next day that Michiko would be all right, but that she was going to move in with her daughter while she recovered. Possibly for the foreseeable future. The town had wondered what would happen to the garden shop, but it was only a week later that it was back open. 

Keith had been on his way to the feed store when he got ambushed about it by Lance. 

"Keith! Keith oh my god _Keith_!" Lance came to a skidding stop on the sidewalk and looked like he'd seen a ghost. It happened enough with Lance that Keith was unphased. 

"What?" 

"Did you see who took over for Mrs. Michiko?" Lance was panting, like he'd just run from the garden shop. He probably had. 

Keith had heard about it from his mother. "It's her grandson, ain’t it? What's the big deal?" 

A feral grin spread over Lance's face. "Why don't we go say hi, hm? Give him a proper Lion welcome?"

Logically saying no to Lance was the safest option, given the manic look in Lance's eyes. However, Lance would be obnoxious enough that the safe option would also be the most headache inducing. He'd whine at Keith about it until Keith got back into his truck to go home, and even then, Lance probably would text him about it for six hours straight. 

Against all better judgement Keith followed Lance back down Main Street to the garden shop. 

It was a small storefront florist shop with a huge greenhouse and gardening tool section out back. Michiko had done classes here for Japanese flower arranging once a month too in the upstairs of the shop which doubled as her apartment. Keith's mother had tried her best to get into flower arranging when Keith was in elementary school. She'd been very good at it too. What she hadn't been good at was the chatter the other mothers kept up and had politely, but firmly been asked to continue with private lessons if she wanted to keep studying. 

Getting annoyed enough with the other students to describe the evisceration of their ancestors was apparently frowned upon. 

The shop still smelled like wet earth and too many roses, none of the plants suffering too badly in Michiko's absence. 

"Be with you in a moment!" A pleasant voice called from behind the counter. 

Keith turned to look at this grandson that had Lance all up in arms and stopped dead. Broad shoulders. Snow White hair. Metal arm. 

"Hi! How can I--" Shiro stopped dead at the sight of them. "Oh. Um. Okay. Right, should've thought about... I mean..."

"It's your stripper!" Lance shouted gleefully. Keith smacked him across the back of his head. "OW!" 

"Sorry for..." Keith jerked his hand in Lance's direction. "Look I won't say anything. This idiot is just trying to embarrass me." 

"Of course I am I-Oh! Oh." Lance caught on to Shiro's increasingly nervous stare. "Yes, just him, not you. No, no, no, not you at all! And I won't say anything either, promise, not that anyone in this town would care. I mean, everyone knows Keith is gay already and that he can beat the shit out of anyone who doesn’t like--OW! Stop that!" 

"Then shut up, dumbass or I'll hit _you_." Keith did his best to look at anything but Shiro's biceps that were threatening the integrity of the grey t-shirt he was wearing. "Sorry, ‘bout all this. But we're all real glad Mrs. Michiko is all right. And uh, welcome to town. Let um, let me know if you need anything." _Let me know if you need anything? Get a grip Kogane!_

Keith didn't even wait for an answer and bolted for the feed store. 

 

Shiro started to pop up everywhere after that. When Keith got groceries Shiro was there helping Old Man Jenkins load his car. When Keith drove through town Shiro was watering the plants outside the shop and always waved. When he was going on a walk with the dogs Shiro was helping the Holts with their front garden. Keith kept their interactions minimal. 

It went on like that for months, Keith expertly avoiding anything more than a nod and otherwise trying to convince himself that he wasn't pining over this poor man who was paid to get him horny on his birthday. That wasn't how you started a relationship. That was creepy and Keith was not going to be a creep. At least he was going to try very hard not to be. 

"He's into you too, you know," Pidge said one time while she was bent over giving Yori, his Cosmic Wolf, tummy rubs during an impromptu walk. 

Keith grunted and pretended to not be following the line of sweat down the back of the shirt clinging to Shiro's torso. 

"He is," she insisted. "He was asking about you the other day. To be fair it wasn't creepy or anything, he was asking about your dad too. Since he helped out his grandma. But you came up. He wasn't really subtle while he grilled Matt." 

That made something twist in Keith's gut. It was happy at first, but then it soured. This was a man Keith met while the other was being _paid_  to turn Keith on. "You're reading too much into it. He probably just wants to thank dad, or us, or something. Come on Yori." The wolf whined and started glowing in retaliation. "Yori don't you dare--YORAK!" 

She'd teleported almost onto Shiro, happily yipping and butting her head against him. Shiro, after the initial shock, was laughing and started to pet her. 

"See, he even loves your dog," Pidge said. 

Keith shot her a withering glance and made his way up the front walk to where his traitorous mutt was licking Shiro's metal arm. "Yorak no! Stop that." 

"It's all right," Shiro laughed. "Trust me, this thing can't rust." 

"Still," Keith grumbled, squatting down and grabbing the back of her neck, "we _do not_ teleport onto people, Yori." She whined at him and went back to licking Shiro. 

"How did you even get one of these?" Shiro asked, wonder in his grey eyes. "Cosmic wolves are rare enough as it is. I didn't even know humans could legally own one." 

"Oh. Um. Yeah, I'm half-Galra. My Uncle Thace gave her to me when I was fourteen. We thought she was a boy at first, so I named her what my mom originally wanted to name me. Then we finally found a Galran vet that could give her a checkup and... Well her nickname is Yori now, at any rate..." He trailed, realizing that was probably more information than Shiro needed. 

"She's beautiful. Aren't you girl?" Shiro rubbed behind both her ears and Yori preened. "Hey um, Sam said you guys lived down the road. My grandma has a big rose bush picked out she wanted me to give to you for helping her out that day. Would it be okay to drop it off tomorrow?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Probably dad should be home then. Speaking of I should get going." Before I embarrass myself more, he thought. "Come on Yori. See you, uh, Shiro." 

He had to keep a hand on Yori's back to get her to move with him, but it worked. He did everything he could not to look back at Shiro. 

The rose bush got delivered. Keith hadn't been home with it happened, but Krolia made sure to inform him Shiro had asked if Keith had been home. In his head Keith twisted that into reasons like begging to keep the stripping secret, or to stop staring at him from across the street. Keith redoubled his efforts to avoid contact with the man outside of what common courtesy required. He hoped that it would also lessen his growing feelings for Shiro as the man invaded their small-town life in all the best ways. 

It didn’t work. 

 

 

Four and a half months later Michiko came back. The town celebrated by showing up with baked goods and pre-made meals in spades. They also probably poured out to say goodbye to Shiro, who had become a beloved community member and leader in the few months he had been there. The shop was packed with people trying to get to the family. 

When it was his turn Keith presented three loaves of fresh bread his dad had made, and some prime glow steaks from Quint and Essence (working for Lotor's ranch really worked out sometimes). Michiko had been thrilled and actually gave him a giant hug, a rare thing for the small stately woman. Over her head Shiro was smiling like a million-watt lightbulb. The idea of him leaving now that his grandmother was back hit Keith like a ton of bricks and he excused himself once Michiko let him go. 

 

It was luck that Michiko's return was the same time Keith finally bought his own place. It was smaller than his parent's farm, but still a good five-acre chunk of land down the way. Enough for chickens and even a decent vegetable garden, if he ever worked up the ambition. The house had sold when an elderly couple decided to move closer to the grandkids. The house had been in good condition, but there were updates and little things Keith needed to to do make it his. He enlisted Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and her older brother Matt to help with renovations. When that group proved to be only trustworthy with paint, not power tools, his mother had called his 'uncles'. 

They descended upon the two houses like a storm. Uncles was a loose term for all of the members of his mother’s very exclusive motorcycle club The Blades of Marmora. They were all Galra who had moved to Earth, some full, some half. All utterly terrifying, according to Lance. Keith liked his uncles, they were the ones who had taught him how to look after himself. He'd relied on them through tumultuous early years when growing up half-Galra had been a learning curve at the worst time of life. Having them around eased him and kept his mind off the fact that Shiro wasn't around the corner anymore. 

It took a month and a half, but in the end the house was his. His parents, friends, and uncles all held a huge potluck to celebrate. He finally had a place all his own for him and the dogs. That night he slept the sound sleep of satisfaction. 

The next night though he was alone in his house, his own home without the noise of others. He let himself wander the rooms and feel pride in this place he had made with his family. Still there was a gnawing emptiness in his gut he couldn't shake.

He went to Arus City. 

 

The club hadn't changed in seven months. Tables were still sticky, bass was still low, drinks were still strong. 

Shiro still moved like liquid sex that set fire in his veins. Keith stayed toward the back, nursing his drinks much slower than he had the last time he was here. He did his best to make sure Shiro didn't see him. It was bad enough that he'd come out to fuel this crush, he didn't need to make things worse when Shiro probably already thought he was a stalker, or just plain weird. 

After four sets on the stage Shiro exited from another door behind the bar, this time in a tight black shirt and leather jacket combo. He spoke to the bartender and she waved him off. Likely he was off for the night. 

Keith sighed and slumped back into his seat. That was that then. His drink had long ago turned into gin flavored melted ice cubes. There was no fuzz in his brain to block out the heaviness in his gut. He paid his tab and left. 

Out in the chill of the night he felt better. Like he was finally clearing the cobwebs from this little romance-in-his-head. He could go home now to his dogs and maybe not feel so lonely. 

"Did you seriously get scared from a muffler backfiring? Look at this faggot!" 

Keith whipped around and followed the reedy sneer to the end of the parking lot behind the club. Three guys stood there over a fourth figure huddled on the ground. Two of them were landing kicks to whoever was down there whimpering. 

"This is what you get for trying to seduce my fiancé!" There were more vicious kicks. 

"Probably couldn't even get off to it, the fag! Just getting paid to be the cock munching slut he is, pushing it out for anyone with a wad of cash." The guy on the ground wasn't even trying to get up. He was that bad off. 

"Hey!" Keith shouted. Three on one half-Galra wasn't much of a fight, and the guy on the ground needed help. 

The three turned around and it was just enough to show off a flash of a metal arm. 

Shiro. It was Shiro on the ground. 

Keith saw red. 

 

Being half-Galra had meant a lot of unknown variables for Keith. For one there had been the concern of a viable pregnancy. Galra had successfully had children with many other species, but humans were still somewhat new to that mix. Galra linage itself was broken down into several sub-races that could affect the pregnancy. 

He’d been born small on almost all counts and had remained small. It led to being picked on in elementary school, and full on bullying as he got older. Once in first grade a fifth grader had stolen his hat and was trying to play keep-away, using his height against Keith. It hadn't really mattered all that much when Keith launched himself at the kid and beat him to a pulp anyway. After that, even with teacher intervention, older kids started coming for the little half-Galra brat. 

Krolia noticed and taught him how to better evade attacks. When he was twelve his Uncle Antok taught Keith how to throw a punch and not break his hand. Kolivan taught him how to use his opponent’s momentum against them. Ulaz and Regris taught him how to use knives—for truly dire circumstances. Mrs. Ryder--his therapist, court ordered at fourteen—helped him use his skills in defense only, a promise he kept. Most of the time. 

By the time Keith was sixteen everyone was afraid of him or wanted to prove themselves against him. That was how he earned the title of toughest guy in Lion against fighters twice his size. 

Now at 21 he’d finally had that growth spurt that filled him out, bulking in the shoulders and arms like his uncles. It had made a surprising difference in how in tune he was with his body when he fought. He didn’t like losing his cool to the point of his eyes bleeding into yellow, irises slit into purple-black slashes, but these things sometimes happened. 

All three of the guys were on the ground moaning. One had an arm bent at an unnatural angle. There was also a considerable amount of blood on the pavement. In the distance a police siren was going off and coming closer. 

“Shit.” Keith wiped a hand over his mouth and felt the cut on his lip. “Shit shit sh—SHIRO!” 

Behind him Shiro was on his knees, arms wrapped around his torso. Wide grey eyes were staring up at Keith. They were still a little glassy, and his breath was coming in short, aborted heaves of his chest. "Keith?" 

The fight fell from Keith instantly. He knew that look. He'd seen it once on his Uncle Kolivan, he'd fought in the Galran army for years. The comment about the muffler came back to Keith and it was easy to put together from there. A loud, unexpected popping noise in the dark was an easy enough trigger to recognize. Shiro had probably dropped when the panic attack hit, and these idiots took the opportunity when they saw it. 

Slowly Keith crouched in front of Shiro. "Hey buddy, you know where you are?" 

"I... It's out-out back..." He was still trying to get air into his lungs. With ribs that were at best bruised. Keith fought the urge to go over and punch those idiots a few more times. 

"Out back behind the club, yeah," Keith said slowly. "Hey, breathe with my counting, okay? Inhale, one, two, three, hold it, that's it. You're doing great. Okay exhale, four, five, six, seven, eight..." 

By the time the cops got there the bartender and a few other dancers were outside with them. Apparently once of the dancers had seen the whole thing. They were going to step in when Keith did and, according to his official statement 'gave those meathead homophobes exactly what they deserved!'. 

Keith refused to leave Shiro's side, the cops tried to pry him away at first, but then the cop with Keith's ID told them to back off. 

"He's half-Galra, he can stay there." 

"What does that have to do with it?" Keith snarled. Beside him Shiro was still shaken and curled into himself. 

"Kid I am too, I know how bad those protective instincts kick in, especially in situations like this. You can stay there." 

Keith was grateful and did his best not to snarl and pace once the paramedics showed up to check out Shiro. 

"You know these guys could press charges, right?" The half-Galra officer, Acxa, said to him while he watched them bandage up Shiro. 

"I don't care," Keith said. He meant it. Let them try and get him, this want's the late 1900s anymore, there would be few on that kind of bigot’s sides.  

"I didn't think you would. They reason is flimsy anyway, the fiancé of one came here for her bachelorette, apparently, she thought Mr. Shirogane was the hottest thing she’d ever seen, and that pissed him right off. We'll do what we can to keep them off your back, off the record, of course." 

Keith nodded in thanks and she walked back to the perps, lined up and handcuffed on the ground where the other paramedics were patching them up. The one guy's arm had been relocated but he was still whimpering away. Keith gleefully realized they were all just a bit worse off than Shiro. 

"Well now, this has been a night, hasn't it?" 

Keith looked up at the voice and the pride drained from his chest. How had they even known to call her? He hadn’t seen her in _years_. "Mrs. Ryner I--" 

The elderly woman smiled and put a soft hand on his arm. "I'm not here for you, dear. Though funny that I find you in all of this, isn't it?" She let her eyes slide to the beat-up men and gave him a knowing look. 

"He was on the ground. They were kicking him while he was curled on the ground. I coudn't..." He bit his lip. 

Ryner's eyes widened and she immediately turned to Shiro. "Hello, Sargent, how are you?" 

Shiro snorted. "I've got several bruised ribs, my arm's cracked, and I can still hear laser blasts inside my head. So, you know, not bad." 

Ryner, never one for ceremony, sat down on the pavement and started speaking to Shiro in her low, calming voice. Keith shifted away to give them privacy. He didn't need to listen in on Shiro going through his impromptu session. 

Eventually all but Acxa's patrol car pulled away. The EMTs left too, and it was just Shiro, Ryner, Axca, Keith, and the bartender. 

"Hi, I'm Nyma," the bartender said holding her hand out. "Rolo was the dancer out here earlier. We both wanted to say thank you for helping Shiro out there. It's been a while since he had an attack, and we should have known those guys were bad news. The bouncer said they'd been loitering yesterday too. You're Keith, right?" 

Keith shook her hand and swallowed. "Yeah, that's me." 

"Shiro was lucky you came out tonight. I don't know what you did to him, but he's head over heels, you know."

"What?" Keith wasn't sure he knew what solid ground was anymore after tonight. 

"He talks about you all the time, and you being here means something, yeah? You should do something about it. He won't. He's too shy."

"He's a stripper!" Keith sputtered. 

"So? You're an emotional unknown and he's got a ton a baggage, I'm sure you can see. Ask him out. He won't say no."

Ryner got Shiro calm and standing eventually, leather jacket draped over his shoulder's like a blanket. Shiro must have asked how she knew Keith because they’d both looked his way, then Ryner had sported a wry smile she did when she was quietly proud of Keith. She left after that. 

Axca took down a few more notes and asked both him and Keith to come by the station the next day. 

Nyma checked Shiro over once more and went back into the club. Keith felt like he was rooted to the spot. Luckily Shiro was moving, slowly, but he could, and walked over to Keith. 

"Hey."

"Hey." Keith cleared his throat. "How are you feeling?" 

Shiro sighed. "Terrible, but better than it could have been. Thank you, for saving me." 

"I didn't--"

"You did. I was in a bad flashback, and the pain was only making it more real. I couldn't get out of it until I heard you snarling at those guys. That wasn't... There weren't Galra with my platoon when we got ambushed and so that noise wasn't... Consistent, with the memory." He shuffled awkwardly on his feet. "I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come. And then you helping me breathe I..."

Keith couldn't look up at him, instead focusing on the middle distance just past Shiro's elbow. "My Uncle Kolivan gets panic attacks. I've watched my mom talk him through them plenty of times. I had to do it myself once when we were out hunting. It's not a big deal."

"It is," Shiro said, his voice firm. "So, thank you." 

He couldn't not look up at a that. "Anytime." Shiro smiled at him and Keith smiled back. 

"I... This is really awkward, but the mechanics in my arm got damaged, and I'm still... I don't feel steady enough to drive. Not really, not with a busted arm. Are you going back to Lion tonight?"

"Yeah, I can give you a ride. Of course. Where do you live?" Even if it wasn't on the way to Lion, Keith would drive him home. 

Shiro's eyebrows knitted together. "With my grandmother? You know, the shop?"

That was not what Keith expected to hear at all. "Wait, you're still there? I thought you left when she came back!" 

Shiro laughed. "No, I stayed _because_  she came back. Her living alone wasn't an option anymore and she just about chewed us all to pieces when we suggested she move in with my mom. I like it there, I like helping run the shop, so I said I'd stay. It's not a far drive for nights I'm working the club so it works out. Which, by the way, she thinks I bartend. To be fair I do some nights, but she's doesn't know the rest." 

He'd stayed in Lion. All that time he'd been there still, and Keith could have seen him. Maybe just now though, he was finally seeing him, and what everyone else had been saying. Shiro wouldn't be asking for a ride from Keith if he thought he was a creep. If he didn't on some level trust Keith. 

"Oh my god. You've been there the whole time," Keith choked out, still hung up on the thought. 

"I thought you didn't really like me, so when you got busy with the house--which I heard about from Lance, I swear I'm not stalking you--I stopped making excuses to bump into you." Shiro was running his good hand through his hair, a faint blush crawling up his cheeks. 

"I thought you'd think it was creepy, a guy you gave a lap dance to asking you out!" Keith nearly shouted, still trying to grasp the full implications of this conversation. 

"I don't actually do that..." Shiro said, growing redder. "But I'd seen you before in Lion, actually, when I was visiting my grandma. I swear you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen and when your friend--wait that was _Lance_  wasn't it? Oh my god--well, when he asked if you could get a private I just about shouted over Nyma to say yes. I'm actually technically not available for those so uh... I think this may be a little bit the other way around." 

Keith wanted to laugh. He wanted to cry too but laughing felt better so he did. Shiro did too and by the end they were both wiping their eyes and smiling at each other. 

"We can't tell Lance, he'll gloat about it for years." 

Shiro drew a finger across his lips to seal them and then winced. "Okay I think laughing didn't help my ribs much." 

"Oh fuck, right. Come on, my truck is this way, let's get you back." 

The drive home was pleasant conversation while they pieced together their own awkwardness. Keith felt lighter than he had in months, and Shiro, despite pain and still sounding shaky when he spoke, was slowly coming around. Once they reached cruising speed he reached over and took Shiro's hand in his. The tight grip told him all he needed to know about Shiro trying to stay in this moment. Keith rubbed circles with his thumb and listened to everything Shiro said. 

"Why stripping?" Keith asked at one point. Shiro laughed and Keith tried to backtrack. "Not that there's anything wrong with it I just... Stop laughing at me!" 

"No," Shiro chuckled. "It's okay though, I get it. Not what you expect right? Well, my PT actually suggested it as an exercise to get used to the arm and get my strength back at first. Then when I told Ryner she thought it might also be a good way to just.. Get me body back, you know? After the... Well, _after_ , my self-esteem was shot. I could barely look at myself in the mirror. But she thought it might be a good way to love myself again, almost like seducing myself as I relearned my body. I didn't think it would work, but I started taking classes with Nyma, actually, and well. It did. I got my strength back, physically and emotionally. When Nyma said I was really good at it, and that I should perform I thought why not? Good tips, something I loved, and free drinks. I've been doing it ever since."

"That... That's actually really amazing. I should've come out more," Keith said, feeling a bit like an idiot now. 

"Still can," Shiro said with a smile and squeezed Keith's hand. 

 

They pulled up in front of the garden shop just after two in the morning. 

"You need help getting in?" Keith asked when Shiro just sat there staring out the window. 

"I don't know what I'm going to tell her. She's already been through enough this year." Shiro sounded almost like he was going to cry. 

It was a very ill thought out idea, but it was the only one Keith had. "Text her that you stayed in the city for the night. Crashed at a friend’s and that you'll be home in the morning." 

"Keith--" 

"I have a spare bedroom. You shouldn't be alone tonight, and if you can't go in there, you're coming home with me." He waited for Shiro to say no, to let him know that this crossed a line and that he'd go up and deal with this. Keith would drive home and worry constantly and shit, he didn't even have Shiro's numbers to check on him-- 

"Okay,” Shiro said. 

The drive to the house was silent in the way the drive into Lion hadn't been. When Keith pulled up he saw that he'd left the kitchen lights on and hoped he'd at least had the presence of mind to lock his door. 

He had, and his dogs attacked him when he came in. Yori phased straight past him and the others to Shiro. She must have sensed his distress and was now rubbing against him and whining. He winced when she nudged his metal arm and Keith called her back. 

"Um, come on, upstairs, unless you're hungry..." Shiro shook his head. "Right, okay. This way." 

He was hyperaware of Shiro behind him on the stairs, praying that Stella, Beau, and Yori didn't trip him on their way up. Keith walked to his room, out of habit, and heard Shiro behind him. 

"Here, I've got some sweats you can borrow, might be a little short but they should fit," he jabbered nervously, trying to give a reason he went to his room first. He went to his dresser and started pawing through the drawer. 

"Keith." 

He stood up and turned slowly. Shiro was standing there in his bedroom, with his dogs, looking like he was ready to collapse. 

Cautiously, giving Shiro plenty of time to move or say no, Keith took his hand and led him to the bed. Shiro sat and Keith sat beside him, bare feet on carpet and hearts in their hands. 

The leather jacket ended up tossed onto the chair by the dresser. Keith didn't know what came next and looked to Shiro. In turn Shiro kept his eyes on Keith while he detached the metal arm, only looking away when he winced as it came off. 

"Where...?" Shiro rasped. Keith held out his hands and took it gingerly to set on the nightstand. Shiro started to take off his shirt, one armed, and Keith could see the motion was fluid, practiced, but with nerves shot and adrenaline wearing off it wasn't working. 

"Here... I can..." His hands stopped just short of the shirt's hem. Again Shiro didn't stop him when he pulled it up and off. He did the same thing with Shiro's jeans. Keith stripped down to his boxers too. Maneuvering into the bed took some fumbling and great care on Shiro's part to find a comfortable way to rest, but he did at length. He was on his back mostly, curled up just enough to leave his head on Keith's chest, left arm curled over his stomach. Keith had an arm around Shiro's shoulders, hand gently playing with Shiro's hair. 

In the morning they would drive back to Arus for Shiro's car and a trip to the police department. Keith would ask him to get a coffee once they'd gotten back to town and Shiro had talked with Michiko. When Lance caught them at the cafe he would crow, triumphant, and Keith would smack him across the back of the head. Shiro would laugh, giggling 'my valiant defender' and pull Keith into their first real kiss. They would start dating, Keith would say I love you accidentally two weeks later and Shiro would, to his great surprise, say it back. Three months in Shiro would move in with Keith. They'd get chickens. Shiro would turn every spot he could into a productive garden during the day when he wasn't at the shop, and at night he'd go and dance. Keith, more often than not, would go and watch. In a year, unable to hold back at all, Keith would ask Shiro to marry him. Shiro would of course say yes. It would be a crazy rushed mess of a wedding held at the Kogane ranch, relatives pouring in with well wishes and more food than an army needed. They'd go back home after partying all night with loved ones, Keith carrying Shiro over the threshold while Shiro laughed and called him an idiot. 

But right now, after a truly awful night, Keith could only soak in this moment with this beautiful, strong man. Could only drop a kiss to his forehead and pray when he asked Shiro to stay in the morning, in every sense of the word, that he would. 

 

He did. 

 

 


	2. That Time Keith Took Care of Shiro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro's been in a funk and Keith's determined to get him out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I'll write some fluff if I write a second part" I said. "Not a bit of angst" I told myself. Whoops. But look at that rating change :D 
> 
> Also some notes on...my AU? Of the AU? Idk anymore this thing has taken over the fandom and we're never going to be the same.  
> The Military/Garrison are fighting intergalactic crime syndicates that are trying to take advantage of our 'primitive system' and the Galran-Altean Alliance swooped in to help Earth/the System out with Military aid and Tech upgrade respectively. That's how Kerberos went down as an ambush battle that...well... is there any reality where Kerberos goes well? Slav would know.. 
> 
> WARNING : THERE IS MENTION OF HUNTING AND OF CLEANING A DEAD DEER IN THIS. IF DEAD ANIMALS OR DESCRIPTIONS OF ARE NOT YOUR THING, KEEP CLEAR. It's only a couple of sentences post hunting excursion, but I know that can still get to some people. 
> 
>  
> 
> THANK YOU TO [TOFULOO](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/) / [@BUFFSHIRO](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en) FOR MAKING THIS AU. THEY ARE AN ANGEL GO SHOWER THEM WITH LOVE PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

 

This first thing Keith learned about Shiro, once they started dating, was that he loved being taken care of. He just never asked for it. 

Now that he wasn’t actively avoiding Shiro in public, the full impact of him on Lion was bare for Keith to see. Shiro had redone nearly everyone’s landscaping. Michiko’s green thumb was strong in her grandson and the town was taking advantage of that. Also of Shiro's insanely good-natured personality. 

He’d helped the Hughes raise their new barn, apparently. Keith had been knee deep in helping Lotor though birthing season then. He father had gone to help and failed to mention that Shiro had been there.

Lance had all but adopted the man as an older brother. Apparently when Shiro wasn't at the club they'd taken to getting a beer together while Shiro listened to Lance rant about everything. Keith didn't even know Lance _had_  that much to rant about. Hell Shiro had even watched Lance’s siblings at the shop when Lance couldn’t. 

On Tuesdays he ran groceries for the old folk’s home. He also taught a water-aerobics class there every Thursday morning as of a month ago. 

If there was something to be done in town, and someone asked, Shiro was there. Now that they were known to be an item _Keith_ was getting asked where Shiro was when the man couldn't be found. 

“I just like helping. I like being useful,” he’d said when Keith brought it up. "Doing things for other people... it just good to give it back you know? I've been lucky with people helping me out in my life." He shifted his right arm for emphasis.  "I just want to keep that going." 

Some nights though he came in looking worn. Spread thin like water in a drought. Those were the nights he laid on the couch with his head in Keith’s lap and just stared blankly at the television. They weren’t often, but they usually paired with a self-esteem low moment. Never lasted too long either, so Keith didn’t worry all that much. 

This bought, though, was going on two weeks and getting worse. Well, Keith had seen quite enough of those nights in a row to know he had to do something. 

The problem was nothing he tried worked. Date outings into the city, home cooked meals together, offering to redecorate to make the house more theirs than Keith’s—none of it seemed to go over well with Shiro. In fact he was starting to get snippy when Keith started dogging him about doing projects together. 

He'd spent the better part of the week helping re-landscape town hall with Michiko guiding him. The 'team' he'd been given to help him was a bunch of teenagers who just needed the hours for graduation. They could only be cajoled into moving around dirt so much before they got sweaty and whiny and lazy. He'd been coming home exhausted all week, crashing into bed without much of a hello. Today had been the last day, the work finishing up and Shiro actually getting home in time for dinner before heading to the club. To Keith that just sounded like more running around that Shiro might not need. 

When Keith suggested taking the night off to stay at home for some quiet and maybe go over the plans for the vegetable garden, Shiro had growled and said he was going in early. That he wasn’t losing this one bit of the week for himself. Keith could stay at home and plan the damn garden. He'd watched, shell shocked, as Shiro stomped out with his duffel bag, scaring the hens that were pecking out front. The Jeep revved and Shiro was gone, tearing off to the city. 

Late, late that night the bed dipped with Shiro's weight. He smelled fresh, not like sweat and metal, so he must have rinsed off in the shower downstairs to not wake up Keith before coming to bed. Keith didn't say anything, he wasn't sure what to say that wouldn't trip his boyfriend into a rant. He heard the thunk of the prosthetic on Shiro's nightstand. It was the first time this week he'd had the presence of mind to take it off before falling asleep. Shiro never really liked leaving it on to sleep, so him taking it off at least gave Keith some comfort. 

"I'm sorry I yelled." The words were hushed, pressed against Keith's bare shoulder. "I shouldn't have snapped like that." 

Keith rolled over. Shiro was on his side, looking tired, a little miserable. Definitely contrite. "It's okay, I know you had a rough week."

Shiro kissed him soundly. He pushed Keith onto his back and Keith rolled pliantly. His lips trailed down Keith's chest and he paused to mouth at the hem of Keith's boxers. "Lemme make it up to you?" 

"Won't say no to that no matter," Keith chuckled. It was cut off as Shiro pressed his face into Keith's crotch, nuzzling. It didn't take long for a wet spot to form on the front of his boxers, from his own desire and Shiro's mouth. It only took minimally embarrassing whining to get Shiro to pull the boxers down. Wet heat engulfed Keith's cock in one smooth motion. Shiro was good at this, better than Keith was for sure—his gag reflex was awful. It didn't take long at all for Shiro to bring Keith off, lapping up the come like it was a dripping ice cream cone. 

"C'mere, lemme get you," Keith rasped, making grabby hands. 

Shiro pushed his face into Keith's neck and guided a hand down to where he was rock hard and leaking. Keith went slow, trying to give Shiro what he'd wanted to early—some peace. A sense of care and comfort. Shiro came apart in his hands when Keith twisted just right. Keith's name was a quiet whimper in his throat. There, finally a win, Keith thought.  

When Keith came back with a washcloth Shiro was already asleep, half curled on Keith's pillow. He was frowning in his sleep. 

 

The next day they had the whole Saturday to themselves. By mid-morning Yori was so keyed up about having them both home to play with she nearly teleported herself on top of the fridge. They rounded up Stella and Beau from outside and leashed them all for a walk, not that a leash was even remotely useful for Yori. It reminded her that she did, in fact, need to stay with her people. At least that's what Keith kept telling himself. 

Shiro looked like he was in a bit of a better mood as they walked. Keith thought maybe the weekend would help pull him out of this minor funk. 

"Shiro?" 

Shiro went ramrod straight and looked around, finally landing on who had spoken. 

They were in front of the Holts house and Matt Holt was coming down off the porch. Keith hadn't been aware Matt was home from his grad program, but he wasn't even looking at Keith. 

"Holt! Long time no see," Shiro said with a little laugh. "How the hell have you been?" 

"Still barely recognized you with that hair, sir. I've been good. Best as I can be at least with the time of year and all." Matt glanced away, his face contorting into something Keith couldn't immediately place as he did. He finally caught sight of Keith then. "Oh my god, I thought Katie was trying to pull one over on me! You _are_  dating Keith!"

"Hi Matt." 

"Man Sarg, how'd you end up with grumpy-guss here? We had a betting pool on who he'd end up with and I swear two thirds of the people in it put money down on him turning into an old cat lady!"

Shiro snorted and Keith was not above elbowing him, hard. It didn't deter Shiro. "Cats? No one guessed chickens? Really?" Matt chuckled and Shiro tried to give Keith an apology kiss. It was dodged. "Fine, pout, but you know I'm right. How long are you in town for anyway, Holt?" 

"Oh, uh, just this week. I always come back for... you know. I can't do the memorials and ceremonies. And they always hold one at the university since it's so close to the Garrison." 

"Right. I can't do it either." 

They kept chatting and eventually made promises to get drinks sometime before Matt left. Keith heard none of it, his brain turned into white noise as he put two and two together finally. 

Oh _god_  he was an idiot. The Kerberos anniversary was coming up and Shiro had been working himself into the ground with everything he could. Keith needed to so something more than ever now, the urge to just _fix this_  was bubbling under his skin. Every single thing he'd tried so far had backfired. Now the stakes were even higher.  

 

And Keith was at a loss. 

 

 

Two days later and nothing had improved. Shiro had the club tonight but Keith said he'd go over to his parents to help his mom when she got back from hunting with the deer. They'd kissed, a little heavy, before parting. There was still the sag to Shiro's shoulders. 

He ended up giving an abridged version of what was going on to his mother, father, Ulaz and Thace. 

“It’s your... Krolia how do I say this?” Thace leaned back in his chair and fiddled with his beer. 

“It’s your mate-protection overdrive,” Krolia said from where she was gutting a deer. They were holed up in the smaller shed-barn. Keith and his father were sitting at the table with Thace while the other two drained the carcasses. 

“My what?” Keith sputtered. 

“Galra choose life mates. Don’t make that face, we’ve all seen you swanning over your boy,” Ulaz said. “Once we find them we tend to get protective, leftover primal instincts. If anything is wrong we do everything we can to make it right for them,” Ulaz elaborated. “If you’re sensing he’s having trouble it’d be like having this itch under your skin to fix everything.” 

He had been mother henning it a bit. The itch was right on the money too. Like something crawling under his skin while Shiro was hurting. “So I need to tone it down a bit?”

“Likely yes,” Krolia said. “Did Antok want any of these hides?” 

“Don’t think so.” Thace took a long sip of his beer and turned to Keith as well. “Humans don’t work like we do. They can feel...”

“Smothered,” Heath finished for him. “And I know for a fact what you’re doing isn’t helping him.” 

“Oh? And when did you get so wise?” Krolia snorted. 

“When you were working for that ranch that took advantage of having a Galran wrangler. Had to stoop to asking Kolivan for advice. And you know what he told me?” He turned to look at Keith. “Take care of her.”

“But I’m trying to—“

“Not like that, son. You’ve got to be the safe harbor he can fall apart in. He doesn’t need you to prop him up, just to let him fall and land on something soft.” Heath tipped his bottle at his son and gave him a nod. 

“Well I’ll be damned, Mr. Kogane. And here I thought I was keeping you for your good looks,” Krolia purred. 

"This ain’t just bein' out of sorts or having a stressful week. I thought it was but it's... I can't mess this up." Keith leaned forward to stare at the ground and pick helplessly at the label on his beer. 

Krolia came over, wiping her hands off on an old rag. "What do you mean?" 

"It's... we saw Matt Holt yesterday. You know he served with the Garrison too yeah? Well looks like Shiro was his Sargent. They got talking and, stars above I'm an idiot." Keith jerked himself backwards to lean hard in the chair. He didn’t even want to finish the sentence it churned his gut so bad. 

Krolia exchanged glances with Heath who shook his head. Thace looked similarly lost, but Ulaz came up short, wide eyes training on Keith.  

"Matt Holt was one of the very, very few men out of his platoon to make it out with only minor wounds. Nearly all of them were lost, they were the first out on that damn mine field, and when that was done the ambush started.” Ulaz shuddered. “And you mean to tell me that your Shiro was his Sargent? Sargent Takashi Shirogane?" Ulaz's voice had taken on a strange, almost panicked lilt. He'd been part of the field medic team that picked up what was left of the Garrison men out there on the ice moon.

Keith nodded dumbly. 

"Damn that hair. I didn't recognize him at all when you showed me that picture. Last I saw him I was patching up his..." Ulaz looked down and took a deep breath. "Your father is still right, Keith. You can't fix this. No matter how much you want to. The best you can do is be there for him. In any way he might need you, but you have to let him decide that." 

Keith swallowed. "Okay. I'll try." 

 

Shiro came in late that night but Keith was still up. They showered together, Keith reciprocating the blowjob from the other night with some added hand action while he got himself off kneeled there between Shiro’s legs. Again it wasn’t so much that Shiro was actively upset, but that some dark mantle had settled over him. Once he fell into a fitful sleep Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro and wished he could just lift this off his love’s shoulders. 

 

“Just bone.”

“Bone?!” Keith choked. 

“Yeah,” Lance said. “Dick him real good. Make him forget his name. Just give it to him so hard there isn’t anything else.” 

“He’s sufferin’ through PTSD!” Keith sputtered. He nearly fell off his horse trying to smack Lance, who nimbley steered his gelding Max away. Beneath him Rosie snorted at Keith in protest to his antics. “Sorry girl, this dumbass is bein’ insensitive.” 

He, Lance, and Hunk were out at Lotor’s hearding the cattle. Keith was full time in charge of this heard, but Lance and Hunk came out part time to help him when they weren’t at their own family’s businesses. He’d thought to try and get some advice from his friends too while they were out today, but clearly that wasn’t going to happen. 

Beside them Hunk cleared his throat. “Know that I really hate saying this, but I think Lance might be on to something.” 

“What,” Keith ground out, “Are you goin’ on about?” 

“Well,” Hunk started, clearly as uncomfortable as Keith talking about this, “it’s not like he’s gonna let you help with anything else, right? He ain’t gonna want your help in the garden, we all know your green thumb’s a bit brown. And s’not like you can help him strip, y’know? Well, that leaves the bedroom, so to speak.” 

“See! Just lay him out and _take care of him_. You know that’s what your dad meant, don’t even try to deny it,” Lance said. “I mean think about it, what else would your mom have let him help _her_  with. She’s a strong, independent woman who—EEP!” 

Lance’s arm caught the end of Keith’s rope as he whipped it out to smack him with. “Backpedal that about four miles, Lance. That’s my mother you’re talking ‘bout.” 

“I was complimenting her!”

“What you was doing was gettin’ that look.” Keith chewed the inside of his cheek. “But I’ll think about it. Hunk, you all got one of those chocolate bunt cakes in the shop now?” 

“Should have. Gettin’ something sweet for your sweetie there Keith?” 

Keith smiled, finally having something of a plan. “Something like that.”

 

There had been a chocolate bunt cake in the shop when Keith got there with Hunk. He thanked Hunk profusely and rushed off to the grocery store. If he was going to make this work he had to beat Shiro home. He was just on garden shop duty today, so he'd be home by six at the latest. Keith had steaks to cook and potatoes to roast. 

Cooking was something his father did, his mother having the distinct ability to burn water, and Keith had learned the skill well. Fresh herbs from the little herb garden Shiro had brought with him that sat in their kitchen, lots of butter, a well-seasoned cast iron pan. Keith was in his element as he got dinner together. 

The steak was plated and resting when Shiro walked in. "What's all this?"

Keith had been pulling down a very nice bottle of bourbon his father had gotten him when he got the house. "Felt like pampering my darlin', is all," he said with a shrug. "Go ahead and wash up, I'll get the drinks poured and the steak cut." 

Bewildered by his boyfriend's antics, Shiro shook his head and went to the bathroom to wash up, but not before pressing a kiss to Keith's temple. 

Dinner was quiet, but it didn't involve the stifling silence that it had the past few nights. Keith didn't let Shiro get up for anything, and when he pulled out the bunt cake Shiro started to get fully suspicious. "No, really, what's going on?" He asked, laughing nervously. "Not that I don't appreciate a good meal and one on Hunk's cakes, but you're going all out here baby." 

Keith sliced the cake and brought it over on little fancy plates Lance insisted he have for nice occasions. "Well... I've noticed that you've been a little down these past couple of weeks and I wanted to cheer you up." He poked at his cake a little. Shiro waited for him to gather the words. "I'm here for you, you know that right? However you need me, darlin'."

Shiro ate a bite of cake and chewed it slowly. "You know, then?" 

This wasn't the mood that was supposed to dictate the night. "Took me longer than I'd've liked but, yeah. Figured it out after you were talkin' with Matt the other day." 

The scrape of Shiro's fork on the plate echoed through the kitchen. "Guess I have been trying to run myself into the ground to avoid it. I'm sorry." 

"No, Shiro that's not..." Keith growled a little in his throat, agitated with his own inability to articulate this right. "I ain't mad, or upset, or any of that. Shiro, I love you, and I just wanted to give you a night where you could... just let go?" He reached across the table and took Shiro's human hand that wasn't holding a fork. "Let me take care of you tonight. You deserve that." 

Shiro gripped Keith's hand back. "Okay." He took a long shuddering breath. Then he looked up and smiled, a real smile, for the first time in days. "So cake? Good whiskey, good food. Anything else planned tonight Mr. Kogane?" 

"You'll see." Keith grinned. "Eat your cake." 

Shiro ended up eating two slices, declaring that if he was getting pampered tonight calories didn't count. He told Keith about the shop today, how a chipmunk had gotten into the greenhouse. He and Michiko had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to catch the damn thing. 

"Why didn't you just get a mouse trap?" Keith asked, laughing at the image of Shiro with a dirt bag upturned on his head. It explained why his platinum locks looked a little lackluster tonight. 

"You know I don't like killing things," Shiro chuckled. The mirth died a little at the end though and Keith picked it up instantly. 

"Here," he reached across the table for Shiro's empty plate and glass. "I'll get these, you go get all that chipmunk chasin' off you, and I'll be up when you're done."  
 Shiro nodded and Keith pressed a firm kiss to his mouth, trying to coax that smile back out. He somewhat succeeded and watched Shiro trudge up the stairs. 

Torn between getting the dishes done as fast as possible and giving Shiro some time, Keith ended up chucking the half of it in the dishwasher to deal with later. Upstairs the showed was still going and he smiled a little, creeping over to the door. 

"Darlin'?" He called. "Be sure you're real thorough in there!" It had the desired effect, Shiro sputtering a half aborted response. 

Keith stripped down to his boxers and waited for the shower to turn off. Shiro came out seconds later, the towel around his hips doing very little to hide his interest. "Hey there baby." He sauntered over and straddled Keith's lap, grinding down and making the towel slip. "Want a private show?" He dipped down and caught Keith in a filthy open mouthed kiss. 

Keith nearly forgot his plan as Shiro worked his hands over Keith's abs and sucked on his tongue, but the press of metal fingers reminded him and he surged up, catching Shiro off guard. "As much as I would love one," he purred, hands gripping Shiro's hips hard, "I don't think I was quite satisfied with dessert." Before Shiro could get the drop on him, Keith pressed his feet firmly into the floor and pushed up, flipping them over and onto the bed proper. 

When Shiro hit he let out a little surprised 'ooph!' and Keith took advantage to flip him onto his belly. He whipped the towel away and shed his boxers in quick order. 

"Keith? What're you—Ahh!!" 

Keith licked a stripe up Shiro's spine at the same time he grabbed that glorious ass and spread his lover's cheeks wide. "Did'ja do what I said to, darlin'?" He didn't wait for Shiro's response before ducking down to nibble at a cheek and kiss down lower. 

"Hnngg." 

Keith chucked. "Gotta use your words now, Sweetpea." He pressed his thumbs into the flesh of Shiro's ass an exposed him. 

"Yes, yes I did—ohmygod Keith!" 

The first swipe over Shiro's hole had the man keening. This was going to be fun. 

Keith started slow, alternating with long slow swipes and kittenish licks around Shiro's rim. By the time he pointed his tongue and worked it inside Shiro was a babbling into the pillow. 

"Ah, fuck, Keith, ohh fuck. Yeah, yeah just like that baby. Shit, you're good at this." 

Keith hummed and plundered deeper, relishing in the incoherent sounds Shiro was making underneath him.   
When Shiro canted his hips down to get some friction on his cock Keith hauled him up onto his knees. Assuming that meant he could, Shiro reached down to his cock but Keith smacked his hand away.

"None of that now, not until I've got you good and ready for my cock." 

Shiro keened. Keith leaned back to take a look at his work. Shiro's hole was twitching and glistening with spit, his cock hung red and heavy between his legs. So far so good. 

He swore Shiro jumped when the cap to the lube got flicked open. Keith turned it upside down and let it dribble over Shiro's hole before he spread it around with his fingers. 

"Keith." Shiro was breathy and wrecked already. 

"Need something darlin'?"

"Please. Please I need... I need... ah-AH!" Keith pressed one finger in while he gave Shiro's cock a few pumps with his lubed other hand. 

"This? Was this what you needed?" Shiro was already pliant from getting eaten out and Keith slipped another finger in with little resistance. He was fucking his fingers in and out slowly, just barely grazing Shiro's prostate. "How's this?"  
"Mmmmpphhh."

"What was that?" 

" _More_." 

Keith grinned and leaned down to lick around his fingers. He took pity on Shiro when his breath started hitching and angled down on the man's sweet spot. 

"KEITH!" 

"Yes?"

"Awww fuck. Fuck! I need you, I need you _now_." 

"Really? I'm doing all right here. Reckon I could watched you come right here on my fingers." He punctuated the statement with a third finger. "You take them so good, darlin'." 

"Nnnghh." Shiro's shoulder's sagged, clearly realizing this was a losing battle and Keith was going to have his way, regardless of begging. 

"Good boy," Keith said and kissed Shiro's cheek. He let his hand graze Shiro's cock and again and was rewarded with a long, drawn out sob of pleasure. 

He lost track of how long he kept his fingers moving smoothly in and out of Shiro, edging him further and further. But Keith could only take so much, and seeing Shiro wrecked on him was going to make this faster than he wanted it to be if he didn't act soon. 

He pulled free of Shiro's tight head and gently turned Shiro over. His face was red, creased by the pillow, and his lips red and swollen where he'd been biting them. "Oh darlin', look at you." He ran a hand over Shiro's chest and tweaked a nipple. Below him Shiro preened, arching his back. "So beautiful. God Shiro, I don't know how I got this lucky. You're so gorgeous." He couldn't help but lean down and kiss Shiro soundly, pouring all of his love and affection for the man into it. 

Distracted by the kiss Shiro made a sound of surprise when Keith slipped his fingers back in, milking his prostate as he did. 

"You ready darlin'?" Keith asked against Shiro's lips.   
"Yes, fuck, yes, _Keith_ ," he moaned as Kieth slid his fingers out and his cock in. 

Shiro was slick from all of the prep, hot and tight around him. "Fuck, Shiro. So good for me, fuck you're so good for me." He rocked into Shiro slowly, bottoming out and then pulling back, starting a slow steady pace. 

"Unnggg, come on," Shiro whined. "Fuck me."

"I am," Keith laughed, punching his hips in and making sure to hit Shiro's prostate head on. 

"Ah! Yes! Fuck like that, yes!" 

Keith reached under Shiro's knees and hauled them up onto his shoulders. His lover's flexibility was a gift and Keith fully meant to use it. He used his weight to pin Shiro down, hips dragging his cock in and out of Shiro's tight hole. With Shiro folded up like this he could lean down and press open kissed to Shiro's slack mouth and his neck. 

"How's that?" 

"Ahhhh, ah!" Shiro's eyes were glazed over, glassy and filled with pleasure. 

Keith kept the pace going until Shiro's little gasps turned into needy sobs and he let one knee fall off his shoulder so he could work his hand over Shiro's straining cock. It didn't take long for Shiro to scream Keith's name and shoot thick ropes over both of their chests, cock twitching until the very last bit dribbled out. 

"C'mon baby," Shiro rasped, voice thick with satisfaction, "give it to me. I want it on me." 

" _Shiro_." Keith pulled out, dragged a hand through the globs of come on Shiro's abs, and used it to jerk himself off with quick movements. He came, shouting Shiro's name, his release mixing with Shiro's on his chest. 

Shiro let out a low, rumbling moan. His head dropped back into the pillows and he shifted his hips around. "Fuck, I think you broke me. I won't be able to dance right for a week." 

Keith was trying to pull his brain back down into his body. "Good," he panted. "That was... the goal." 

It took herculean effort to get up and get washcloths from the bathroom, but he did and came back to Shiro still slumped in the same position, though without his prosthetic. He cleaned him up carefully, making sure that every inch of Shiro was covered in kisses and praise as he did. 

Once they were both a bit less sticky he crawled into bed, curling behind Shiro and pressed kisses to his neck and shoulders. "I love you, all of you, every last bit. And I'm here for you, whatever you need." 

Shiro reached for Keith's hand and held it to his chest. "Just this. Just you." He pulled the hand up and kissed Keith's knuckles. "Thank you, for taking care of me tonight." 

"I'll take care of you as many nights as it takes, darlin'. I love you."

"I love you too."


	3. That Time Keith Lost It and Shiro Really Liked It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Galra biology gets tricky. Keith loses it a little bit, but Shiro helps him back down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally going to be another one of the 'Keith has a bad day and fucks Shiro dumb' works for this AU but Tofu wanted angst so I added angst.   
> Acxa is half human because I said so. 
> 
> THANK YOU TO [TOFULOO](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/) / [@BUFFSHIRO](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en) FOR MAKING THIS AU. THEY ARE AN ANGEL GO SHOWER THEM WITH LOVE PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

Galra lived longer than humans. Their life spans could be anywhere from 150 to 500 years depending on a lot of factors. Quintessence from the White Druid Magics down to simple genetics could dictate it. Half-Galra could be measured only if the pairing had been seen in large amounts before, which made the human-galra hybrid a unique newcomer to the realm of biology. Keith knew he was a 'late bloomer' by human standards, his big grow spurt happening at nineteen, but he'd been under the impression that it had been the last push through. 

He, apparently, was wrong. 

The week had started out badly enough. He was trying to buy the ten acres adjacent to his and Shiro's little farm so they could up their livestock amount, expand the garden, get his horses on his own damn property, and still have the back half of acreage as a nice patch of woods, which included a nice bit of swampland. The sellers, however, were being assholes. Keith had the money, but it was clear the idiots who owned the land were xenophobes who didn't want more 'alien slimeballs stealin' up more of our good land!' or something like that. Keith had overheard them bitching in the background while he negotiated with the realtor. 

It also happened to be birthing season and because Lotor was an idiot who didn't want to pay the emergency vet bill, they very nearly lost two calves and a heifer. Keith had almost crashed the truck on the way home in the early morning, because of course there were elk on the road out of nowhere. Not even deer,  _elk_. He'd stuffed his heart back into his chest long enough to get home. He was so keyed up though Yori ended up getting keyed up too and teleporting through the whole damn house enough times that Keith snapped, loudly at her. _That_  woke up Shiro who proceeded to chew him out for freaking out over nothing. 

Going on little sleep and still agitated, Rosie ended up bucking him off and when Lance made a snide comment they nearly ended up in a full on brawl. Luckily Hunk peeled them off each other and Keith took the rest of the day off. 

After a nap at home he decided to unwind and go into work with Shiro. Watching his favorite stripper would clear his head. And it nearly did. 

While he and Shiro were outside, catching some fresh air, a few drunk businessmen had the gall to waltz up to Shiro and ask 'how much'?

"'Scuse you?" Keith snarled. 

"Oh, should I be asking you? How much is he for the night?" 

Blackout rage was rare, but not uncommon for Keith. Usually he did it in defense of himself or others. A drunk, gross, asshole didn't warrant him completely losing control. 

" _KEITH!"_

He came back slowly, ringing in his ears and his eyesight blurred. He tried to wipe a hand over his eyes but it only smeared whatever was there more. Blood, he realized belatedly, there was blood all over him. A steel arm was around his middle and his left arm was held at a painful angle behind his back. On the ground in front on him one of the businessmen was a pile of black and blue, blood trailing out of his mouth. 

"C'mon man, get up, let’s get out of here." The unharmed guy was pulling his friend up, the blood out of beaten guy’s mouth proving to just be a split lip. "Gotta get out of here before the alien freak really loses it over his whore." 

There was a nasty, feral sound echoing in the lot that had the men scrambling away. 

" _Keith_ ," Shiro hissed in his ear. "Fuck, come on, calm down." 

He jerked in Shiro's grasp and then choked. The awful snarling noise was coming from him and it took a good amount of concentration to make it stop. "Fuck," he rasped. Even his voice was wrong. 

"Can I let go of you or are you going to lose it again?" Shiro asked, his voice was strained. Keith could _feel_  how much strength it was taking Shiro to hold him back. 

Keith tried to uncoil himself but his body wasn't getting the message. There was still a part of him that wanted to tear after those fuckers and _rip—_  "No," he whimpered. "No I'm still not in control yet." 

Shiro grunted and widened his stance. "Try, Keith, come on. Get the claws in first, okay?" 

_Claws?_  Keith looked down at the one arm that was still clenched into a fist. Blood was dripping from it and when he eased it open he saw the puncture marks his _claws_  had left. Claws that had split the skin of his cuticles and replaced his nails. More blood there. " _Fuck_." He crumbled. 

"Shit, Keith!" Shiro yelled as Keith lost all strength at the sight of his hand. "Okay, I've got you, it’s okay."

"What the _fuck_ ," Keith whispered, staring at his hand. He barely registered Shiro setting him down on the ground and calling someone.

He didn't hear anything that went on around him. Nyma had come out at some point, she and Shiro gesturing wildly at each other and Keith. She'd gone back inside though and Shiro was crouched in front of him, whispering in a soft voice. None of the words he said made any sort of sense. 

The rumble of bike engines filled the air. Huge, strong hands hauled him up and a pair of smaller ones were examining him. 

"He needs a doctor." That was Shiro.

"No." That was his mother poking at him. "No we know what's going on. Damnit, I thought he was through the other side of this." She snapped in front of his face. "Keith, you with us in there?" 

"Uhh," he groaned. His head felt like it was filled with lead. 

"Get him in the truck and drive him back to our place. And Shiro?"

"Yeah?" 

"Stay calm, he needs you to not freak out right now."

"Not freak out?! He just tried to kill—" 

"Sargent!" Kolivan was here too, great. "Get your man home first." 

That tone of voice must have worked because Keith was loaded into his own truck. Shiro fought with clutch at first but eventually pulled out smoothly behind the bikes and followed them back to Lion. 

Keith came back in stages. Full awareness of his surrounding was first, then noises started to coalesce into things that made sense instead of washing over him. By the time they pulled up at his parents he felt like he could form and possibly speak sentences. Not that he was given the chance. Shiro was silent the entire ride. 

He got hauled out of the truck by his father and Shiro to be sat at the kitchen table. The kitchen lights felt too bright against his eyes. He couldn't focus on a single point, gaze instead darting all over as his uncles took turns looking him over and asking millions of questions.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Can you feel your hands?" 

"What can you see? Can you focus on things?" 

"What can you smell?"

"Can you pull the claws back? Do you remember making them come out?" 

"What was your intent when you attacked?" 

"Do you remember attacking?"

"Can Shiro leave the room?" 

" _No!_ " He snarled and gripped the edge of the table so hard he left claw marks. "No," he whined. One by one he made his fingers release their hold. "No he can't..." he tried to put the absolute _panic_ in his chest into words. “I can't protect... if he's not... I can't."

"Keith," That was Ulaz. "Keith it's all right, we understand. He's safe here. Whatever the threat was it's _gone_ , all right?" 

Keith nodded and looked up at Shiro. He was safe, he was whole, he was... he was looking at Keith with a thousand yard stare. Like Keith could lose it on _him_. That made his stomach grow cold and reality start to really, honestly slot back into place. 

"Ow!" He looked down at his hand and watched in fascinated horror as the claws receded back into nails, his cuticles sealing up into scabs over the nail beds. "Holy shit." 

"Well, that's the Altean," Ulaz said from over Keith's shoulder. 

"Not exactly how I thought we'd get that fully confirmed," Krolia said from where she was seated next to him. One hand was one his face, her eyes scanning it over and over in frantic sweeps. "There we go, those are some better looking teeth." 

Keith lifted a hand to his mouth and _felt_  his canines retracting. "What the fuck? What's happening?" 

"Several things are, really." Ulaz said and moved to crouch in front of Keith, next to Krolia. "His eyes are coming back now. Good, this is good. Hopefully he can keep control better next time." 

" _Next time?_ " Shiro bellowed. "Can we address what happened _this time_  first?!" 

Krolia sighed and turned to Shiro, clearly reluctant to take her eyes off of Keith.  "This is part of Keith's biology. He's past most of his growth spurts at this point, but his hormones are still balancing out. We'd hoped most of that had already taken place when he was a teenager, but this was always a possibility. Galra mature slower than humans, we have a different lifespan, Shiro.

“It also has to do with my own heritage." Krolia stood and crossed her arms. "My clan was always... close with the Alteans. Eventually a good smattering of Alteans married in. My sub-race of Galra can exhibit Altean shape shifting qualities because of it. I can change my form at times, but only a little bit. When Keith’s eyes started changing we thought that would be the end of his abilities." She took a deep breath as if to steady herself. "Clearly not. And now it's coupling with his hormones being out of whack making it easy to get... aggressive when there is a perceived threat. And that apparently is coming with physical changes." 

Keith felt like he was going to throw up. Shiro didn't look much better. 

"So any time he gets angry or... or _thinks_ I'm being threatened or something, he's just going to lose it?" Shiro had started pacing. "No, no that can't be—"

"And it isn't," Kolivan said loudly from where he was stationed by the door, cutting Shiro off. "This will pass. This was just one incident and we know to watch for it now. There are signs. A partner or loved one being threatened of course, but also being under stress can slowly build and boil over. Just like in humans." 

_Stress_ , Keith thought. With work and trying to get the new piece of land and the normal stress of living on a farm it wasn't a stretch to say he'd been high strung. 

Shiro was shifting back and forth on his feet. "He has been tense lately. He's been snapping at me and the dogs lately. Hell he nearly growled at Giada during breakfast because she was being a little mouthy." 

"I did?" He rasped. He didn't remember that at all. Shiro would have chewed him a new one if Keith so much as looked at the three week old fluffball wrong. "And can we please all stop talking like I'mma dang invalid? I'm here, all right? I'm back together." Shiro had the decency to flush at that. No one else, Ulaz, Kolivan, or his mother, said anything. 

Having had enough of the silence, Heath cleared his throat from where he was leaning against the counter. "Why don't you boys stay here tonight? The dogs will be fine and we can sort this all out better in the morning." 

That seemed to be the end of any conversation. Krolia stayed by Keith while his uncles sorted out sleeping arrangements with his father. Shiro stayed on the other side of the kitchen, arms crossed and staring at the floor. 

"We'll get this worked out, Keith. Get an appointment in the morning to get your blood checked make sure nothing's going too off course. Probably not a bad idea to check in with Ryner either, okay?" Krolia kept petting a soothing hand down his spine but it wasn't doing a damn thing to calm him. 

Shiro wouldn't even look in his direction. 

"This will pass, Keith," his mother said. 

He wanted to believe her. 

 

The pullout in the living room was the only bed big enough to accommodate both of them, but only just. It made it all the more awkward then when Shiro faced away from Keith, doing his best not to touch the other. 

"Just give me a little time to process, please?" Shiro had asked and Keith had acquiesced, something wilting in him the whole while.

He passed out hard shortly after and woke alone in the living room, sun much higher than it usually was when he woke up in the morning. Shiro was already gone. 

"He just went to work," his mother assured him when he trudged out into the kitchen.

Breakfast tasted like mush in his mouth, and he made doctor's appointments for the afternoon on autopilot. Last minute he went to call Acxa, just to be clear on what legal ramifications there could be, but his father informed him Shiro had already done that. 

"Obviously they could press charges, but they don't know your name. So they'd have to go to the club. She thinks, according to Shiro, given the circumstances they'll probably just slink off. Sounded like Shiro pulled you off before there was any real damage done. To them, anyway." 

Keith frowned. "To them?" 

Heath put down his coffee. "He had to wrestle you off the man, son. There are some good sized welts on him," he said it slowly, in the same soft voice he used when they had to put down the family dog when Keith was ten. 

This time Keith did run to the bathroom and throw up. 

No wonder Shiro didn't want anything to do with him. 

 

Doctor's tests showed nothing wrong on preliminary tests, but they'd call him in a few days to confirm. He had an appointment with Dr. Ryner at four-thirty the next day, and the rest of the day and the next two days off of work. He made it home, the dogs losing their minds. Shiro had apparently fed them and let them out this morning. Stella and Beau raced to get out into the yard and Yori just phased herself right onto Keith's chest, knocking him over. 

"Hey girl," he said, laughing as she licked his face. "Did I worry you? I'm sorry girl, c'mon lets go out. C'mon!" He rolled up and walked out with her, batting her down as she tried to jump on him. He tired himself out playing with the dogs and left them in the yard while he fed the chickens. He left the dogs outside while he went in to check on Giada, who was getting a bit rotund, when he saw the post it not tacked to her little yard they'd set up in the kitchen. She was peeping plaintively at him but he ignored her for the moment, instead reading Shiro's tight penmanship. 

_Staying at my grandmother's for the night. Maybe for a few nights. I just need some time to work all of this out._

_I'm sorry. I love you. Please text me updates._

_-Shiro_

If Keith was fighting back tears while he fed Giada, she was the only one who would know. 

 

The first day Keith wallowed. The second day he wallowed right up until his appointment with Ryner who promptly told him he needed to make more time for himself, find productive ways to get stress out of his system, and to call someone on the racists selling the parcel of land. 

"Not selling to you because you're half-Galra is illegal." She said. "And Keith?" 

"Yeah?" 

She smiled kindly at him. "I know you said Shiro left the house. Give him time. People need to cope with things in their own ways. Have you texted him?" 

Keith shook his head.

"You should. He's probably as scared as you are right now." 

When he was out of his session Keith opened up his phone. He had a text from Krolia, asking how it went, but no other notifications. He shot her a quick word that it went well, and that he was seeing Ryner again next week for a check in. Right below his mother's name in his messages was Shiro's, the chocolate bar emoji next to it. 

' _For my abs?'_

_'No, because you're a sweetie.'_

_'You suuure?' Shiro lifted up his shirt and ran a hand down his muscles._

_'No, but you keep that up and you'll be late for work.'_

He laughed at the memory. It had been almost a year already and Keith was more in love with this man than he ever thought he could love anyone. His fingers shook as he typed out a message, quick and to the point. If Shiro needed space he was going to grant it. 

_Hey._

_Tests all look good so far, they'll call if there's anything more to them but they don't suspect so. Ryner says I need good way to let out aggression while this works out. No one knows how long this 'phase might last'._

_miss ya lots, love you._

He hit send and put his phone on Do Not Disturb. 

Back at the house he sunk into the rocking chair on the porch and kicked his feet up on the railing, cool beer already in hand. Beau and Stella were asleep at his feet, Yori was trying to catch a butterfly in the front yard. Giada was still peeping in the kitchen. He'd done his best to soothe the little chick but her Mama was gone and she liked Keith well enough, but Keith didn't hatch her. Shiro had when a fox had gotten into the hen house. That had been a right disaster, losing several hens in the process, but Shiro had taken it in stride and kept all of the eggs without mothers under the heat lamp. Giada had been the only one to hatch. 

"Yer baby girl is calling," Keith whispered to the front yard, wishing that the Jeep would materialize down the dirt road and pull up. He needed to see Shiro as much as Giada did. He needed to check over every inch of skin and kiss away any damage done. Sick of sitting and stewing he grabbed his phone to look up ways to destress. 

There was a little notification dot on his messages. Part of him knew it'd be his mother, but he hoped. 

One message was indeed from his mother, thanking him for the update. The other was from Shiro. 

_You home?_  

Keith swallowed tightly. 

_Yeah, drinking a beer on the porch._

Little dots popped up immediately and Keith’s heart lurched.

_Don't get drunk, okay? I want to come home tonight if that's all right. To talk._

_I won't_ he typed out right away. _Just come home please. Giada won't stop peepin and I dont know if i can do another night without ya._  

_I'll be home in an hour_. 

Keith felt tears prickle the corners of his eyes. He thanked every god that might be listening that he hadn't lost this man. 

He spent the hour looking up anything but meditation or yoga for combating stress and the best thing he came up with was hiking. Which he had zero time for. He was getting ready to chuck his phone when tires on gravel caught his attention. 

He hadn't even heard the Jeep coming down the road but now it was parked behind his truck and Shiro was getting out, hair all over the place like he'd been running his hands through it. Yori pounced the moment she saw him and he laughed, lavishing her with scratches. Keith stayed frozen on the porch, totally unsure of how to proceed here. 

Shiro made it onto the porch with him and sat down heavily in the other rocker. He had bags under his eyes and from here, in his tank, Keith could see the nasty bruise on his left arm where Keith must had struggled. 

"I'm sorry." Shiro said.

_What?_ "What?" Keith sputtered. 

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have taken off. I was scared. We both know I'm only just stable at the best of times, and if you were having issues too I thought... I was scared we'd just end up hurting each other. But that was unfair, and rash, and I'm sorry." Shiro said it all in a rush, like he'd been practicing the words and need them out before he lost them. 

Keith hadn't practiced at all but he hadn't known what to expect either. And it certainly hadn't been this. "I'm sorry too," he said. "I didn't... are you hurt bad?"

Shiro snorted. "No, it's just some bruising. You elbowed me good in the stomach though when I first grabbed you. That's gonna take a minute to get better. And this," he gestured to his arm, "was just from holding you down. I'm surprised I managed it."

"Christ, Shiro." 

"Hey," Shiro reached out and put a hand on Keith's shoulder. "It's okay. We know what's going on now. We know we need to be more careful and... pay attention to what you need more." 

"I don't need much," Keith muttered. 

Shiro stood up and crouched down by Keith, taking his hands and holding them gently. "Keith, we're in this together. You're there for me when I need you to be. I know I don't have to be strong around you, I know that I can... let go and let you take care of me. But Keith," he shuffled closer and laid his head on Keith's thigh, "Baby, let me be there for you too." Keith chewed at his lip and mumbled a very wobbly 'okay' and Shiro kissed his knuckles. "Thank you. Now, I think I know a way we can curb this while helping you learn how to be in control when it happens."

"Oh really," Keith snorted. "Wild Galra trainer now are ya?" 

"No, but I talked to officer Acxa again, who happens to be a few years older than you baby." Shiro straightened up a bit and smirked. "Had breakfast with her this morning in fact. She went through this too, though not so much with the transformation, but the adrenaline, heightened senses, bursts of strength and aggression—"

"Yup, I turn into a beast, I get it. What did she do to stop it?" 

Shiro chuckled. "Well. She fucked."

This man was full of surprises tonight. "She what?"

"She grabbed her boyfriend—who is Lotor? By the way—and basically had her way with him until it was out of her system. She said she tried boxing at first but no one could stand up to her. She said channeling it into sex made her more aware of..." Shiro was blushing furiously at this point trying to explain this. "Of what she was doing. It was a concentrated way to channel the frustration and she learned how to not get blackout pissed that way. Guess there's some kind of instincts linked to your partner that keep you from..."

"From losin' it." Keith finished. "Okay. So the next time I'm... on edge like that, we just let that-that galra half out and-and..."

"Have your way with me? Yeah, sounds like." Shiro smiled. "What do you say?"

Keith stood and shook Shiro off. "What do I say? You _saw_  what I turned into! I ain't lettin' that thing anywhere near your naked ass!" 

"Keith—" 

"No. Not a spit's chance in hell Shiro, I ain't gonna hurt you again!" 

Shiro wrapped Keith up in his arms and held him down tight. "Baby, baby you won't. I trust you. And I talked to Acxa for a long, long time today. She said that other habits can help later on when you're older, but right now the drive is so strong it takes either fighting or fucking to get it out of your system. And after seeing you the other night? I kind of believe it. You went totally feral and what's more feral than that?" He laughed, trying to diffuse this situation. 

Keith hated that it was working. "You're sure, darlin'?" 

Shiro cupped Keith's face with his hand and kissed him tenderly. "I trust you, Keith. And we already know I can hold you down if I need to. Let's try this. If Acxa's right the distractions will only last so long while you work through these changes." 

Keith buried his head and breathed in Shiro. He smelled like dirt and leaves and home. "Okay. Next time. We'll try it next time." He pulled back. "For now, let me love you tender? I missed you darlin'."

"Can't say no to that," Shiro said and kissed him slow and heady. 

 

It took an embarrassingly short amount of time to test Shiro's theory. 

They'd agreed that until Keith had this more under control he was not to go to the club. Keith hated that, mostly because he couldn't watch Shiro, and immediately started looking into installing a home pole, a good sturdy one, with fervor. 

There were still creeps in this world though, and Shiro came home early one night the next week looking out of sorts. When Keith asked him about it he dodged at first, but when Keith started getting antsy Shiro finally blurted out. 

"Some drunk grabbed me all right? I was mid-set and near the edge of the stage and he just," Shiro motioned his hand around his thigh, and well, that was that. "I punched him in the face before he got up to the thong but—Keith!" 

Next thing Keith knew he was being suffocated in his boyfriend's pecs while Shiro tried to calm him down as he screamed about going down to the club and killing the man. 

"Keith! Keith, baby, I got a better idea." Shiro breathed in his ear, soothing a hand down Keith's back. 

Keith could already feel his teeth out and claws were trying to split open as Shiro hushed him. "What," he grit out, "could be better than skinning that man?" 

"Showing everyone who I _do_ belong to." 

Well. That worked. 

Instantly Keith's raging, and frankly bloody imagination flipped from scenes of gore to scenes of Shiro stripping with his body covered in marks from Keith. That was a _great_  idea. 

"That's it baby. Let's go upstairs and—WHOA!" 

It was really cute how Shiro forgot Keith could fireman carry him without a second thought. He marched Shiro upstairs, kicked the door closed and set his man on his feet, making quick work of their clothes. 

"Jesus, _Keith_." 

Keith growled, low and satisfied at how turned on Shiro already sounded. He marched to the bedside, yanking the lube out of the drawer and turned around to see Shiro leaned back against the door, legs spread wide and hand trailing down his front. 

"All yours, baby." 

Subconsciously Keith knew Shiro was egging him on, but his all his fore-brain could think of was his insatiable need to _claim_. Shiro must have seen the shift in Keith's demeanor because he stopped his little seductive movements and braced for his boyfriend crashing into him and turning him around. Keith spread lube over his hands, let the bottle drop to the floor, and started working over Shiro's already hard cock. Shiro moaned and melted into him. Once he was mewling to Keith's liking, he kicked Shiro's legs wide and wriggled a slick finger in. 

"Nnnng, yes." 

Keith kept working into him and over him, fast and unrelenting. He kept a steady pressure against Shiro's prostate, relishing in the sounds he wrenched out of the man. He needed to be in his lover, to take him and mark him and make him _his_. Shiro kept panting out little half aborted babbling as Keith fucked his fingers into him so Keith slapped a hand over Shiro's mouth. If Shiro could still somewhat talk he wasn't doing his job right. He added a third finger to the two already stuffed in there and worked over Shiro's prostate hard. The hand jerking Shiro off doubled its pace. Shiro drooled and shouted. 

"That's right," Keith growled. "You're mine." He found purchase on Shiro's shoulder and bit down on the muscle there, leaving a deep mark. Shiro's body went taught and he came hard, come splattering over the door and Keith's hand. Keith smirked and manhandled Shiro onto the bed, face first. 

"Gonna fuck you right through," he growled. Shiro whined and canted his twitching hips back. Keith slid his fingers back in with ease and set a slower pace, working the body beneath him back up into a frenzy. He laid kisses and nips all over Shiro's back and shoulders and ears. He sang praises in a low, gravelly voice that was barely his, calling Shiro beautiful, and perfect, and _his_. Shiro, bless him, preened. 

"Yours baby, all yours, only yours—Ah... oh fuck, _Keith_." 

Keith slid in slow at first, but once Shiro started moaned he slammed into him, setting up a hard, steady pace. Shiro was squirming too much beneath him, oversensitive and already halfway hard again, so he pulled Shiro's arms back and held his wrists. Shiro was prone like this, at the mercy of Keith and his cock. Something deep inside of him crowed at the sight of his mate submitting to him. 

"Oh god. Fuck, wreck me, wreck me on your cock," Shiro moaned beneath him. 

Keith couldn't say no to his lover wantonly begging beneath him, so he thrust in hard, pushing Shiro down into the sheets. He'd fuck him right through the mattress if Shiro kept begging like that.  

After Shiro came the second time, Keith's weight blanketed over him and his cock trapped against the bed, Keith lost track of the orgasms. All he knew was he stayed hard and by the end Shiro had been folded into several positions and his hole was slick with come and completely abused. The sheets were shredded from his claws and he had to be careful not to rip into Shiro's skin with them. There were already enough bite marks all over the man's body. 

"You're beautiful," Shiro cooed, sweat coating his brow. He reached up and drew his thumb across Keith's cheekbone. "Fuck—of _god_ —Keith look at you. You're so beautiful like this." His thumb slipped down and pressed into Keith's mouth, tracing over sharp canines. "So beautiful." 

Shiro's cock made a valiant effort to get hard one last time before he came weakly with a broken cry. Keith leaned down, folding Shiro's body in half and pressed hot kissed and bites all over him. "So good, you're so good for me. So perfect, _fuck_ ," Keith's hips stuttered into the tight, wet heat and emptied into Shiro a final time. 

Keith tried to keep it together as he pulled out. That was apparently just too much to ask of his body though and when he did he lilted sideways and passed the fuck out. 

 

Birds chirping woke him up and he immediately pulled a pillow over his face. 

"Oh no," a hoarse voice croaked next to him. "I had to clean us up last night, _and_ change the sheets. And I can barely walk." The pillow got ripped away. "You can deal with sunlight." 

Keith groaned. Every inch of him ached. "Your idea." 

"I'm regretting it a little," Shiro whined next to him. 

Keith pried his eyes open and tuned to look at Shiro. He blanched at the sight. 

Shiro was a mess of bites, a smattering of them all over his chest and shoulders, and a few strategic ones on his inner thighs. Every time he shifted he winced a little and did the shimmy with his hips that meant Keith had gone too hard. "Shit, darlin', are you all right?" 

"Hmmm?" Shiro turned and looked at Keith, eyes hazy and tired. "Yeah, I'm fine. I mean, I feel wrecked but that was the point." With great effort Shiro propped himself up and ran his hand through Keith's hair. "I don't actually regret it, you know that right? As long as it helped?" The question and hope in his eyes was so pure it nearly broke Keith's heart. 

When he thought about it, and really made himself think about it, he was feeling better than he had in weeks. All of the simmering frustration was gone. He thought about what Shiro had said happened last night at the club, and while he still wanted to cut the man into tiny bits, it wasn't an immediate need. He wasn't tearing out of bed ready to rip half the city apart. 

"I think it did," Keith whispered. "I'll be damned."

Shiro kissed him and Keith lazily kissed him back, open mouthed and in love. 

"If I'm honest, last night was sexy as hell," Shiro said, tracing patterns into Keith's chest. 

"Yeah? It didn't... I didn't freak you out?" 

Shiro snorted. "Are you kidding? I lost track of how many times you made me come last night. Freaked out was the last thing I was." 

"Oh. Good, that's... that's good." Keith blushed and snuggled deeper into Shiro's arms. 

"I wonder if I get days for my boyfriend going into feral-mode and fucking me stupid?" 

Keith felt beating Shiro with his pillow was completely deserved for that. And if the subsequent pillow fight led to a much, much gentler version of the night before, well that was no one's business but theirs.  


	4. That Time Communication Wasn’t Keith’s Forte

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro meets the family, and the family issue meet Shiro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YA’LL! Japanese potato salad is amazing. So is Japanese style egg salad… and the fried food section at the grocery store. And SevenEleven’s that sell really good, decent food. Damn I miss living in Japan… anyway. Have some hurt to comfort goodness as always~ (also the first part of this was written to the tune of half a bottle of merlot… don’t judge me, drunk!Yeehaw is best Yeehaw.) 
> 
> SEASON. 7. YA'LL. *screams into the void*  
> ALSO I WASN’T EVER EVEN GONNA MENTION ADAM BUT DAMN GUYS S7. If Tofu says Yeehaw cannon he's alive with a basic ass life THE BOY GETS MENTIONED WITH HIS BASIC ASS LIFE. Because he deserves a drama free, calm and content, basic ass life. 
> 
> THANK YOU TO [TOFULOO](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/) / [@BUFFSHIRO](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en) FOR MAKING THIS AU. THEY ARE AN ANGEL GO SHOWER THEM WITH LOVE PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

 

“What’re you so nervous about darlin’?”

Your ‘extended’ family is a group of ex-military Galra bikers who make home-brew capable of killing a grown man in one of their basements _and_  of the two I did meet they both described, in detail, how, after your mother destroyed me, they would slowly kill me if I ever, ever hurt you. 

Is what Shiro wanted to say. Instead he said, “The two I already know are intimidating enough, baby. The entire group of them sounds awful.” 

Keith laughed in the driver’s seat. “It’s not all of ‘em. Just the Uncles. That’s only five.”

Right. Only five. 

“Besides, Kolivan is the scariest, and you already knew Ulaz, and they both like you so it’s not a big deal, really,” Keith assured him. Shiro was having trouble believing that. 

The annual barbecue had sounded innocuous enough. Go meet Keith’s family, eat some good food, mingle and make good impressions. That had been the plan until he found out it wasn’t a family barbecue, but a _Marmora_  barbecue. When Shiro had lamented not meeting Heath’s family at long last Heath had just laughed. 

“My family isn’t the one you need to impress half as much, son.” Shiro must have gone white at that because Heath had slapped him on the back and said, “If I can survive it you sure can kid.” 

Shiro wasn’t so sure. He held onto his potato salad tighter. It was his grandmother’s Japanese style recipe, which was foolproof as far as potlucks went, so at least he had that. 

Keith pulled up to a small yellow ranch house with several bikes out front, and inside what Shiro could see of the open garage too. There were also bits of cars, a backstop full of arrows and throwing knives, and several small game hides hanging over the porch railing. At least a dozen Galra were out front around a fair sized smoker which Shiro figured the pig was in. Because why not have a smoker that Shiro could easily be stuffed into, need be. 

“I don’t think I made enough,” he whispered, looking at the sheer _size_ of some of the people here. 

“You’re lookin’ at Antok ain’t ya?” Keith said and nodded to the giant who Shiro was indeed eyeing. “He’s good about not eating a ton a’ what there ain't army sized portions of.” 

Antok, the owner of the home, was a _fucking mountain_. Also vaguely familiar, but Keith was getting out of the truck and Shiro didn’t have time to contemplate it. 

The moment his feet hit the gravel Krolia was on them from god knew where. Shiro hadn’t even seen her in the little chatting groups. 

“My boys!” She shouted. “Finally made it huh?” 

“Sorry,” Keith said. “The rabbits got out.” 

“No,” Shiro said, rolling his eyes. “Yori _let_ the rabbits out.” 

Keith glowered. “You can’t prove nothin’.” 

“She teleported into the pen and then opened the gate!” He lifted his potato salad up and down in emphasis since he couldn’t wave his arms around in indignation. “Your dog is out of control.” 

“She ain’t.” 

“She _teleported to the Holts_ last week! She’s taking advantage of us.” Shiro shook his head. Yori had moved past her official puppy years a few months back and was using full powers to their max. She had also gain about six inches in height which was barely manageable in the house. Convincing her to not sleep in bed with them had been a trying three weeks. 

Krolia laughed. “You’ll figure it out. You boys always do. Come on,” she grabbed Shiro by the arm. “I’ll show you where to put that.” 

Shiro looked back at Keith and pleaded with his eyes to not be left alone. Keith, damn him, just waved and pulled out the ceremonial Galra luxite dagger he had. He’d been bouncing up and down like a little kid about getting to spar with it. Shiro didn’t see the appeal much. 

There was a long table set up with sides and cutlery on the porch where Shiro set his offering of potato salad. There was an alarming array of weirdly flavored chips, pickles, and hot sauces on the table already. He felt better when he spotted the huge fruit tray and a smattering of cut vegetables, but immediately lost that sense of comfort when he noticed some bowls with very questionable looking goos inside. 

It was well known that the Galra weren’t famous for their cuisine. 

“Don’t worry,” Krolia said, “No one will make you eat the _zreptsiggvar_ unless you lose a drinking game. It’s a heavily acquired taste to begin with, and I avoid it if I can.” 

“What is it?” Shiro asked. The blue pyrex bowl looked like it was harboring the festering bottom of a hoarders fridge. 

Krolia frowned. “You know… I actually don’t know. It get imported like that. It was usually breakfast in the military. C’mon,” she pushed him away from the table gently. “Let’s go introduce you and get it over with.” 

“Can’t I just, you know, mingle?” Shiro asked. He was guided off the porch and toward the towering mass of Galra from earlier. 

“Nope, best get it over with,” Krolia said. She pushed him toward the group he’d seen earlier huddled in the driveway. “Plus,” she added conspiratorially, “if you do it now it’ll look better than you slinking around without introducing yourself. Antok!” 

The Mountain™, turn and his eyes widened in shock. “Krolia! What the hell!” 

Shiro realized why he seemed familiar. Why _all three men_  seemed familiar. 

“What the hell what?” Krolia bit back. 

“Why’d you bring a stripper here?” 

The world froze around Shiro. He’d given lap dances to all three of the men looking at him. They’d been public stage shows. He hadn’t lied when he told Keith that he’d been Shiro’s only private. But the number of times he’d done those on stage dances with these men was slowly ticking up in his head. He’d stopped doing those one on ones once he and Keith started dating, especially after Keith went through his rough patch, but that wasn’t the issue here. This issue here was that he had intimately, thoroughly, ground on each of the men in front of him. 

Krolia recovered faster than Shiro had. “How did you know he was a stripper…?” 

The Mountain™, or Antok, apparently, frowned. “Because you ordered a stripper? He works at the club we go to.” 

Shiro’s insides were rapidly melting into one another. He was going to combust any second now. That was his only option. It was that or try and down the zrepawhatever in one shot and hope it killed him. This could not be happening. 

“Oh good! You’re meeting the rest of them. Everyone this is my boyfriend, Shiro.” 

Fantastic. Keith was here now. Shiro emitted a low whine and couldn’t even fathom being ashamed about it. There was no coming back from this. Give up the perfect man with the perfect body and the perfect cock—oh god what was he going to _do_. 

“Your boyfriend?” The thinner of the three men reacted first. “ _This_ is Shiro?”

“Ancients no…” that was The Mountain™, who was looking as sick as Shiro felt. 

The third was just looking at him in total abject shock, his tail swishing back and forth in agitation—oh _fuck_ Shiro had done so many things with that fucking tail. 

“What’s the problem?” Keith asked, clearly on edge. He put his hand on the small of Shiro’s back, sure to be meant as a reassuring gesture. Shiro wanted to melt into the ground and die. 

Krolia, ever quick on her feet, ever eloquent in tense situations said, “I think your Uncles have visited the club.” 

Shiro was unaware that pure Galra could blush, let alone that deep a color of plum. Keith’s hand dropped from his back, creating an instant feeling of cold abandonment. Shiro would have to walk to the nearest gas station and hitch a ride back into Lion. This was it, this was the Big Thing. He’d worried of course that Keith would want him to stop stripping, but Too Good To Be True Keith hadn’t even batted a pretty eyelash at it. _Shiro_  had to bring it up and when he had Keith and laughed and said it was Shiro’s life. Who cared what patrons thought, Keith knew who Shiro was devoted to. He’d kept laughing too at Shiro’s face, utter unfazed by the fact that Shiro wanted to be a stripper. Much like now, where Keith was doubled over guffawing at the situation—wait. 

Shiro slowly looked at his boyfriend in disbelief. Keith was hunched over, nearly crying he was laughing so hard, and trying desperately to catch his breath. “You… you go to... oh my _god_!” 

“This isn’t funny, Keith.” That was the slim one. 

“This is fuckin’ _hilarious_!” Keith wheezed. 

The Mountain™ grumbled. “Your boyfriend is a stripper, Keith.” 

“How—how do you fucking think I _met_ him!” Keith dissolved into more laughter. Shiro was started to get concerned that he was going to pull something. 

“Baby… you’re not… this isn’t upsetting to you? _At all_?” 

Keith looked up at Shiro, tears in his eyes from mirth, and broke into more hysterical laughter. 

“I think he’s broken,” the one with the tail said. 

“Maybe,” Krolia said, but the minute she opened her mouth she too was fighting back laughter. “Oh my god this is bad. This is really, really bad.” Even as she said it she was peeling into giggles like her son. 

“Krolia! He’s given us lap dances on stage!” Antok The Mountain™ half shouted. 

Krolia and Keith both fell to their knees, totally unable to get up they were laughing so hard. The scene they were causing pulled over several other guests, which of course included Heath, Kolivan, and Ulaz. 

“What’s going on?” Ulaz asked. His face was pinched in confusion. 

“They… and Shiro… I can’t!” Keith tried to speak but was still in the middle of an impossibly long bought of laughter. Shiro was starting to get annoyed. Really, it wasn’t _that_ funny. 

“Shiro’s… stripped… for them!” Krolia managed to bark out in between sharp intakes of breath. She had to brace herself on Keith’s back afterwards as she peeled into further hysterics. 

“Huh,” Kolivan grunted. “I wondered about that.” 

“It is the only strip club in Arus that caters to LGBTQ,” Ulaz said nonchalantly. 

Heath, bless him, had the presence of mind to look a little embarrassed about the situation. Still all he did was look at Shiro and shrug. “Job’s a job. S’not like you knew.” 

The thin one recovered first, walking forward with chagrin. “Hello, I’m Thace. It’s nice to… _formally_  meet you, Shiro.”

Shiro swallowed. “Nice to _formally_ meet you too, sir.” He held out his hand. Thace took it and Shiro did his best not to let out an audible sigh of relief. 

Tail came next, he had ears like Ulaz but he wore his hair back like Kolivan in a long black braid. He was smirking a bit, his sharp features making him look more aloof than he was likely feeling. “Regris,” he said holding his hand out for Shiro to shake. 

He did his best not to look at the tail as he did. 

Speaking of tails, Antok The Mountain™’s tail was also swishing a little sheepishly. Luckily Shiro had never touched that part of Antok. Straddling one thigh had been more than enough work. Now that he could get a good look at him in real life he could see Antok had as many scars as Shiro did, one of them bisecting his large ear. Unlike the others, who had squeezed into earth fashions, Antok was wearing the Galra wrap style shirt Shiro had sometimes seen Kolivan wear. His pants were a drop-crotch style and those thong style shoes were definitely Galra. It wasn’t like the entire eight feet of him would fit into anything else. 

“Antok,” he grunted at Shiro in greeting, arms crossed. Still clearly uncomfortable. 

Shiro nodded back. “Nice to meet you,” he said. 

Recovered and now standing Keith put his hand on Shiro’s back again. “I’m going to hold this over their heads _forever_.” He pressed a kiss to Shiro’s cheek. “Darlin’ you are the best.” 

“We have to find a new club,” Antok grunted. He turned around and headed toward another group of people that had been watching the whole scene with wholly feigned disinterest. 

“We can’t now!” Regris shouted after him. “We have to support Keith’s man! Just no more lap dances.” He winked at Shiro. 

This was not how Shiro expected to die when he met Keith’s family, but at least Keith was a warm point of mirth at his side. His dignity could be sacrificed for that. 

Once the pig was deemed cooked enough by Antok it was a mess of knives and shouting to get the damn thing cut. Shiro stood back with Heath and watched as the Galra, including Keith, dissolved into a pissing match about how to get the best cuts. Shiro knew enough to know every point they argued over was so minute it wouldn’t make any sort of difference in how the meat got into mouths, but it was entertaining nonetheless. 

He and Keith ate with Thace and Ulaz on the ground under a maple off the side of the porch, plates in laps and Shiro declaring this was the best pork he’d ever had. 

“Whatever this is,” Thace said holding up a forkful of the potato salad, “it’s fantastic.”

“You’ve never had potato salad?” Shiro felt like that was a barbecue staple. “How many years have you all be doing this thing?” 

Keith laughed and leaned into Shiro’s shoulder. “A long time, but usually it was just a pig. Bringing something other than meat was my dad’s idea.” 

“Which resulted in the potato chips and Galra goo?” Shiro asked. He pointedly looked at the pile of it on Ulaz’s plate. 

“This,” Ulaz said, scooping up a forkful of the stuff, “is completely nutritious and entirely filling. You don’t account for fancy taste when you need to get something in you gut before a battle.” 

“You don’t account for any taste and you and Kolivan are the only ones who still willing eat that slime,” Thace said. “I’ll stick to the potato salad.” 

The sound of metal screeching against metal made Shiro jump and, nearly upsetting his plate onto the grass. His heart was thudding loud in his chest as he looked for danger. 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Keith said, putting a gentle hand on Shiro’s arm. He hadn’t realized he’d raised it to cover Keith’s chest. Keith kept talking in the low, soothing voice he used whenever Shiro went on edge. “It’s just Kolivan and Antok. Look, Takashi. Just sword-fighting.” The use of his first name really brought him back. His eyes tracked to where Keith was pointing across the yard where a truly impressive display was going on. 

The ceremonial knives the Blades carried, how they knew each other in the first place, apparently had some magic alien properties. Shiro watched, amazed, as Antok vaulted forward to slash at Kolivan. Kolivan stood still raising his knife but then, when the blow came down, a burst of white like engulfed the blade and in its wake was an impressive broadsword.  

“That time already?” Thace asked with a sigh. “Well, better eat up.” He shoveled the contents of his plate into his mouth almost in one go and stood, stretching a little as he did so. 

“You participating this year, Keith?” 

“Gonna try,” Keith said, flint in his eyes. 

Thace chuckled. “Best get that blade to wake up then, boy. I’d rather not see Regris hand you your ass in front of your man here.” 

Shiro carefully tore his gaze away from the ferocious battle happening a handful of yards away. “What’s going on?” 

“Ritual combat!” Thace shouted, puffing his chest out, growling the words out like he as honor bound by them. 

“Yearly sparring competition,” Ulaz drawled, still eating at a normal pace. “You’re not up until the third round Thace.” 

“I’m aware. But I need to start getting ready if I’m going to be Antok this year.”

“Ha!” Keith barked. “You ain’t got a chance. Kolivan’s the only one who might be able to take him down.”

“Watch it boy or I will put you and that little toy of yours in the dirt.” 

Keith growled and Shiro had to stifle a shudder. Being now intimately familiar with his boyfriend’s Galra half it was hard not to think about it and get turned on at the same time. It was Pavlovian at this point. Plus there wasn’t anything else that could embarrass him more than his introduction had. 

Sparring, it seemed, was a very serious matter indeed. There was an old chalkboard pulled out with tallies from the last year on one side, and a new bracket pulled up for this year on the other. As Antok and Kolivan finished up their ‘warm up’—which if _that_  was a warm up Shiro was truly in over his head with this—the rest of the Blades slowly started pulling out their own luxite knives and pulling on some sort of armor suit. Shiro stayed where he was, assured by Keith and Ulaz that it would be a prime spot to watch. He was surprised though when Heath and Krolia came to sit next to him. 

“You don’t fight?” He asked when Krolia started explaining the rules that bound this little tournament. 

“Not anymore. Ever since Keith turned nineteen he’s been trying to wake up my old blade.” She shifted around to pull her knees up to her chest. “He may need a little extra love tonight. He’s always a bit down when he doesn’t get it to awaken.”

“You don’t think he will?” Shiro asked slowly. He’d never seen Krolia doubt her son before. 

“I don’t think he wants it for the right reasons. Or it’s that he wants it too much. The blades are sensitive and can be stubborn even to their owners.” She smiled and nodded ahead of him. “There he is. Maybe having you here will make a difference.” Shiro looked, and any chance of not getting turned on went right out the window. 

Keith had stripped out of his jeans and plaid shirt, now instead in tight black armor suit like the other Blades were wearing. It hugged every muscle on his body and it made Shiro’s mouth dry. He had his hat in his hands and when he spotted Shiro gaping at him he tossed it his way. 

“Keep that safe for me darlin’.” 

Shiro caught and clutched the hat like it was a rose from a knight. _Fuck_  Keith looked hot. Something straight out of some Hollywood sci-fi movie and the way he moved with that blade as he practiced. Shiro had seem him in fist fights more times than he cared to count, but he hadn’t been aware that Keith could move like _that_. It was like watching a deadly dance, the grace and speed with which he moved, the knife an extension of his arm, simple and smooth. Shiro realized that all the time he though Keith had been truly wailing on whoever he was in a fight with that Keith and been _going easy_ on them. This man in front of him now was sensuous death. 

That said, the other Blades were on the same level but with decades of experience at their backs. The previous fight was shown to be the play fighting it really was. The first match was between Ilun and Ulaz, Ulaz losing to her in a split second move Shiro couldn’t catch. One moment she was on the ground and the next there was a blade to Ulaz’s throat, his own stuck in the grass where it had landed when she parried. The rest of the matches passed like that as well, a blur of steadfast and practiced movement that Shiro could barely keep up with and sudden, halting wins. 

“Antok and Keith!”  Kolivan bellowed. 

“Kick his ass Keith!” Krolia shouted. Shiro felt his nerves spike. Even with his considerable muscle Keith still looked small compared to the rest of the Blades. He hoped this year Keith could bring home a win. He wasn’t sure how _he’d_ handle watching Keith lose. 

The fight started without much fanfare like all the others. One moment they were squaring each other up and the next Shiro’s suspicions about Keith holding back were proven true. He moved like lightening across the yard, striking Antok with shallow cuts and close call parries. He ducked and flipped and arched like he was made out of water. Shiro’s mouth hung open as he watched, any chance of not begging Keith to fuck him through the damn mattress when they got home was out the window. 

Keith was snarling and gnashing his teeth, his Garla traits slowly morphing into place. Even that spike in power wasn’t enough without a blade to match Antok’s. Antok laughed as he dodged the short reach of Keith’s knife. His own came down and Keith was a second too late, the blade striking hard across his shoulder. 

“Keith!” Shiro shouted, immediately up and running toward them. 

“Stand down!” Antok bellowed, his sword swinging up at Shiro as he neared. Shiro braced himself to argue his boyfriend off the field but in that same second Keith _roared_. 

In a matter of seconds Antok’s blade was flying out of his hand with the force of Keith’s sword. A long, curved sword that had been a knife one second prior.

Before Antok could think to react Keith spun, his sword stopping just short of Antok’s neck. “Well,” Antok said. “Look at that.” 

Keith was still growling. “Keep your hands offa him.” 

Antok raised his hand up in surrender. “I yield.” 

For a long, tense moment it didn’t look like Keith would stand down, but he did. The pain in his shoulder must have hit because he wobbled. Shiro was there to hold him up immediately. 

“Baby, are you okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine darlin’. The suits block any shallow cuts. I’ll just have a nasty ass bruise I reckon,” he winced a little as he rolled his shoulder. He grinned, eyes still bright points of saffron and violet, teeth sharp and wicked. “Plenty a fight left in me,” Keith purred. He shot up and pressed a hard, searing kiss to Shiro’s slack mouth. “Don’t you worry your pretty lil’ head.” With that he turned, swinging his new sword around, gathering the feel of the weight. “Who’s up next!” 

Shiro endured the rest of the afternoon watching his boyfriend tear through his uncles with a deep, sexy ferocity. At one point he lost his sword to Regris and opted for hauling the man _over his head_ and slamming him into the ground. 

Watching Keith toss a man twice his size around like a rag dog did things to Shiro that were not meant for public witness. Regris had limped off after congratulating Keith, looking a little dazed. Krolia had excused herself to talk with him then, but Shiro barely gave her a nod, too busy watching Keith. 

Eventually Keith had to yield to Thace, who in turn went against Kolivan. That fight was brutal but well matched, both men moving around each other with the patience born from years of going up against one another. It was a long but satisfying fight to watch. By the end of that final match though, still in his armor and Galra’d, out Keith was just about vibrating in his skin. 

“We should head home soon,” Shiro whispered hot in his ear. Keith wasn’t the only one totally keyed up. 

 Keith stood in one fluid motion and pulled Shiro up with him. Shiro laughed as they went up and Keith announced without any preamble, “We should get going.” He looked at Shiro and grinned. “Check on Yori and the animals and all.”

Shiro did his best not to laugh as Keith flew through goodbyes and just about threw Shiro into the truck. 

“Fuck baby,” Shiro laughed. “Did you even get your clothes?” 

“Already in the back,” Keith growled with a jerk of his head. “Gonna speed the whole fucking way home…” 

Shiro was very, very tempted to give road head a go, but with Keith this far gone it would end with the truck in a ditch and he couldn’t abide by that. 

The moment the truck was in park they tore out of it and into the house. The dogs were out the door the moment it opened and once every tail was clear Keith slammed Shiro up against the door and kissed him. Shiro whined under Keith’s onslaught, teeth grazing his lips, tugging gently before Keith dove in and plundered his mouth with his tongue. Shiro had been half hard the whole way home and now his jeans were achingly tight. It didn’t help one bit that the damn suit left _nothing_ to the imagination. 

He mustered enough concentration to push against Keith and flip them around, pressing him hard into the door and attaching himself to Keith’s neck. He tasted like ozone and sweat. Shiro quickly sucked several dark marks into his flesh. 

The suit, for all its beautiful lines, had no easy means of removal. “How, the fuck, do I get this _off_  you?” Shiro ground out, handing running up and down the damn thing fruitlessly. 

“Here, lemme,” Keith panted. There was a soft click and then the suit went slack, the tension keeping it tight to Keith’s body gone. Once that happened it was easy to stretch and slide it off. Shiro sunk as he did and in one smooth movement swallowed Keith’s weeping cock on his knees. 

“ _Fuck,_ ‘Kashi, yes. Just like that… shit.” Keith anchored his hand in Shiro’s hair, claws just scraping at his scalp. 

Hearing Keith slip out his nickname, the one Keith only used in really intimate moments, was pure sin. Shiro moaned around Keith’s cock and had to scramble at his own zipper. At the sound of the metal teeth sliding down Keith yanked hard on his hair. “Not, not yet. Not until you get me off once.” 

Shiro choked around Keith’s hot length and redoubled his efforts. 

Tonight was going to be long and punishing. 

 

It was well past sundown by the time Shiro stumbled out of the shower and fell face first into their bed. “I feel like there’s still come in my ass,” he groaned into the pillow. 

“I can get that for ya darlin’,” Keith said. He was laid out on his back on the bed, choosing to let the cool air from the open windows air dry his clean, damp body. The adrenaline rush and Galra features were gone and with them his tolerance for the nasty black bruise across his right shoulder. There were blood welts in spots, others the shade of galaxies with bruising, edges fading to nasty yellow. Shiro had kissed it tenderly and tried his best to help Keith maneuver once the high was gone, but he was going to need help around the farm for the next week for sure. 

Shiro turned toward Keith and let his hand wander softly over skin. “I don’t think I’m up for you ‘getting that’ for me. Several rounds with post war-game-Galra you was more than enough, baby.” 

Keith chuckled. “Wore ya out huh?” 

“Mmm,” Shiro hummed. He leaned forward to press a kiss to Keith’s pec. “Love you.”

“I love you too ‘Kashi.” 

They stayed like that in the sweet night air, careful reverent touches as they both drifted in and out of consciousness. At least until a cosmic wolf had enough of the shut bedroom door and teleported onto them. 

“Damnit Yori!” 

 

 

Life had fallen into a simple, easy pattern like that over the last two years. They saw friends and family, they worked their little farm, the loved, they fucked. It was everything Shiro had never thought he could have for himself. This little slice of contented pie he’d resigned himself to looking at through the shop window. Now it was here and most mornings when he shuffled down to the kitchen, groggy and half asleep he couldn’t believe that the man at the coffee maker was his. 

It’d been a couple of days since the barbecue and they were getting ready to head to the club. Shiro was excited to show off a new pair of lace underwear for a set he’d been working on with Keith in mind. They were almost out the door when Keith’s phone went off. 

Keith huffed, “Hello?” He waited for the other end to speak. As the conversation went on, with only grunts from Keith, his face darkened into something Shiro hadn’t ever seen on him. “Right. All right. Yeah I’ll be there in ten.” He hung up. It looked like he was headed into overdrive. “Babe, I can’t come. Gotta go help mom with something. I’d bail if I could but—“ 

Shiro kissed him, soft and quick. “It’s okay, it sounds important. Go. Just text me updates if you can okay?” 

Keith nodded tightly and was out the door. Shiro watched the truck tear out of the driveway and prayed everything was all right. 

He was distracted during his sets, but luckily no one but Nyma noticed. A group of business people in town for the weekend requested him for some lap dances at their table and Shiro put his all into giving them a good time to keep his mind off Keith. Plus drunk out of town suits always gave generous tips. They also plied him with several shots. 

By the end of the night he was still trying to get the walls to stop spinning. He had to get home and make sure Keith was all right. 

“Okay hotshot,” Rolo said, after Shiro’s fifth round of lamenting not being able to drive. “You’re gonna owe me n’ Nyma, but we’ll drive you back to Lion tonight. I don’t think I can put up with much more of your whining.” 

“You… you are the _best_ ,” Shiro said letting his arm flop over Rolo’s shoulder. 

“Yeah, yeah, tell me that when you’re covering my afternoon bar shift with Sal. Come on big guy, let’s get you to your cowboy.”

“Gonna save a horse and _ride_ my cowboy,” Shiro giggled. 

In the Jeep with Rolo at the steering wheel the mild panic from before turned into drunken worry. He tried his phone but it was dead, and of course his charger was in Keith’s truck. He groaned and let his head fall against the cool window. 

It was long past when he normally got back when they pulled up. He drunkenly thanked Rolo for driving the Jeep and tumbled out of it. 

“Like I said, tell me that when you’re working a week of shifts with Sal.” Rolo tossed Shiro his keys and made for Nyma’s car, waiting to take them both back to the apartment they shared outside of Arus. 

Shiro was surprised to see the lights downstairs still on. He was even more surprised to see Keith on the porch, still fully dressed. That wasn’t good. 

“Where the hell’ve you been?” He demanded once Shiro was on the porch steps. “I’ve been callin’ you for a fucking hour!” 

Shiro fished out his phone and held it up for Keith. “S’dead. Im sorry baby. I got a group table tonight and they got me shots. But Rolo drove me n’ the Jeep back!” He said, swaying as bit as he did. Damn he couldn’t hold his tequila. He squinted up at Keith. “Are you mad?” 

“Of course I’m mad!” Keith shouted. That hurt Shiro’s ears. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” he gestured to himself. “Lemme make it up to you?” He tried to look sexy. Sexy usually won him forgiveness for small transgressions.

Keith didn’t look placated though. That was strange. “Just get your drunk ass inside and go to fucking bed,” Keith growled. 

That wasn’t right. Keith wasn’t ever this mad about little things like this. It wasn’t the first time Rolo had driven Shiro home after customers got him drunk. The last time had been nearly six months ago, and Keith had been exasperated about it. But he hand’t looked so angry then. So cold. 

It had to be the phone call. “Baby?” Shiro got himself up a few more steps and reached for Keith. “Is everything all right?” 

Keith jerked out of his reach and glared down at the porch floor. “Go to bed, Shiro. You reek.” 

Shiro swallowed thickly and went inside. He was glad he the tears didn’t gather in his eyes until he was on the stairs. He stripped, finding another twenty crammed in his thong, and flopped into bed, passing out instantly. 

 

Morning came like a sledgehammer. His mouth was foul and every part of him ached. His arm was at a weird angle and it had left the prosthetic hanging off the bed. His shoulder would kill all day now. He flopped the arm around a bit and fumbled with the locking mechanism for longer than he should have. Eventually it popped off and he let it thunk onto the floor. He was off today from both jobs. He didn’t need two arms he told himself and rolled over. 

The other side of the bed was empty, but there was a bottle of pills and a water bottle on the bed. Shiro loved his boyfriend. He took the pills and downed most of the water bottle in one go. Judging by the time Keith would be out feeding the animals right now. Shiro stretched a little, letting joints pop and settled back down. 

It hit him then. He was under the covers but the other side of the bed was still somewhat made. Like Keith hadn’t slept in it the night before. Panic made him move fast than was advised by his head and gut but he needed to get to his phone. 

The wait for it to charge up enough to turn back on was agonizing. At length the screen lit up and he fumbled his passcode twice trying to get in. 

He had fifteen missed calls and about twenty missed texts. Only one voicemail. He read the texts first, half of them dispersed over the time period where Keith was with his mom. Something happened with Regris and they were at the hospital. They wrapped up saying that Regris would be all right and not to worry, but could Shiro come home early? Or at least right when his shift ended. Once the timeframe moved to when Shito normally got him the texts got frantic, and then snippy. Shiro exited out of messages and went to the voicemail. It got left around the time Shiro would have been driving home with Rolo. 

_“Shiro, please, pick the fuck up. Fuck. If you’re dead in a ditch somewhere on fucking tonight I swear to god... please, please come home.”_

Well shit. 

 

Downstairs the coffee pot was on, but there was so sign of Keith having made breakfast. Right then. Shiro pulled the eggs and butter out of the fridge. He was terrible at pancakes, and really anything other than eggs and breakfast meats, but it was something. There was bacon in the freezer he knew, good thick cut stuff and he pulled out the package to defrost. While it whirred in the microwave Shiro tapped his foot, trying to think of anything else he could do to make this up to Keith. 

He’d said Regris was fine but whatever it was had shaken him. Mentally Shiro tallied all of the things he could do for Keith today around the farm. He’d already put his arm back on after hearing that voicemail. This was no day to wallow in a hangover. 

He got the bacon sizzling, cooking it crisp like Keith liked it. Eggs were easy, Shrio had mastered scrambled eggs years ago with the discovery that all they took was a concerning amount of butter and patience. It was one of the things he made he knew Keith liked, and didn’t just smile through. He put up with Shiro’s playing chef without ever complaining. It was little things like that which put Keith beyond anyone Shiro had ever dated before. 

The thought reminded him of Adam. He’d been a good boyfriend, but they just didn’t fit. Shiro signed up for the hard missions and crazy schedules and Adam wanted simple and safe. Shiro went joyriding in his Jeep and Adam sat in the passenger seat white knuckled. Then he stopped coming. He didn’t get Shiro’s love of cooking, even if he wasn’t the best at it. It wasn’t Adam’s fault, or Shiro’s, that those little things built up. They didn’t fit, it was simple as that. Shiro hadn’t thought so at the time, when Adam left. But it was for the best he saw now. 

He’d visited Shiro after Kerberos, just to see him in person and be sure he was okay, he’d said. He was engaged then to an accountant. At the time it had felt like a punch to the gut. Shiro hadn’t even been interested in Adam anymore at that point, long over him. But it stung that he got a life like that and Shiro was sitting there damaged beyond repair. That had been before he discovered the pole. And before it let him _here_. 

Keith loved joyrides in the Jeep, drove for half of them to boot. When Shiro put too much on his plate Keith didn’t try and stop him He made space to take care of Shiro in other ways. Bubble baths and massage oils and really, really good dinners—because Keith could _cook_ , but he let Shiro rule the kitchen anyway. Pet projects and sprawling gardens and even installing a pole in the basement, redoing the whole thing as a studio in a matter of days to surprise Shiro. Adam would have never been okay with Shiro stripping. Keith didn’t think a damn thing of it. 

He piled the toast on a plate to take to the table where the eggs and bacon already were. Out the kitchen window he could see Keith, finishing up with the chickens. Yori was pattering beside him and nudging his thigh. A habit of hers when her humans were out of sorts. 

Shiro waited at the table with his coffee. Seconds felt like hours until the screen door peeled open and bounced shut. The dogs were at his side in an instant, begging for food. Yori just about had her head on the table before Shiro caught her and pushed her off. “None of that now girl,” he chided. 

Keith was stationary in the kitchen entranceway, staring at the table. “You’re up,” he said, little inflection in his voice. 

“I am,” Shiro said, still maneuvering Yori away from the table. 

“You made breakfast,” Keith said. 

“I did.” 

“You gotta be hungover.” 

“Very much so.” Shiro sighed. “I’m sorry, Keith. The group table came and I’d… I was off all night worried about what was happening here so I used the group table as a distraction and well, it worked. Too well. I’m so sorry.” 

Keith came in and sat down at the table, expression still unreadable. “I’m… I shouldn’t’ve yelled. It was… a stressful night and you not picking up your phone threw me bad.”

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said again. He was. Yeah maybe Keith had overreacted but he also had a terrible night and Shiro had accidentally made that worse. That warranted feeling sorry. 

“I am too,” Keith said. He started to heap eggs onto his plate. “So you used what, vodka to keep your mind offa worryin’?” 

Shio snorted. “Tequilla.” 

Keith shook his head, “gotta be careful with that.” He winced as he moved and tried to roll his shoulder. 

“Hey, I’m home today. I’ve got the rest of the chores, okay? You should give that shoulder a rest for the day.” 

Keith chewed his lip. “A’ight.” The eggs on his plate got poked around a bit. “Look, I ain’t mad. I’m just… it was a long night and the couch wasn’t the best.” 

“I know.” Shiro reached across the table and put a hand over Keith’s. “So take today for yourself, and leave everything else to me.” 

It took a few more seconds for Keith to actually nod, but he did. They ate quietly, but Shiro was happy to see Keith get a second serving before he moved to start clearing the table up. 

“I’ve got that,” Shiro said, taking the plate from him. “Go get in bed and get some decent sleep.” 

Keith turned and made for the stairs but stoped halfway. He stomped back over and to Shiro’s utter surprise kissed him hard and fast. “I love you.” 

Shiro kissed him back softly. “I love you, too. Go. Rest.” 

It was well into the afternoon when Keith got up. Shiro was reading on the couch, Giada on his lap, Stella curled next to him. Beau was somewhere by his feet. Yori had tried to get up on the couch but by now she was just a hair too big and kept slipping off. Eventually she gave up and just had curled up in front of the stairs. 

Her tail thumping loudly on the floor alerted Shiro to Keith coming down. 

“Hey. How do you feel?” 

Keith rounded the corner and came into sight. He was in just his brief and rumpled t-shirt. “Better. Still a little groggy. You wanna get takeout from Hunk’s tonight?” 

He was absolutely still tired then. Shiro could see the bruise on his shoulder too, just poking out of his shoulder. “Yeah, I’ll pick it up. Want me to swing by my grandma’s and get that ointment she makes for aches? Might ease the pain a little.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Keith said. He face showed no hint of anything, just exhausted and a blank stare Shiro hadn’t ever seen before. He sat on the ground and started absently petting Yori. 

“Your usual?” Shiro asked, wanting to pry it out of Keith, whatever this was, but he knew that would backfire spectacularly. 

“Yeah.” 

Keith kept petting Yori and Shiro felt like he was being dragged away by a riptide. Disoriented and out of control. 

He almost talked himself out of going to get the food, not wanting to leave Keith alone when he was acting so despondent. But maybe being out of the house for a bit would clear his head and give Keith space. 

There was still time before the food would be ready—Hunk would text him when it was done—so he went to his grandmother’s first. The shop would just be closing up, James, the assistant Shiro insisted that she hire, probably gone for the night. It was good to see her doing so well despite the scare a few years back. She had almost all functionality back, save some weakness in her right side, and occasionally forgetting a word in one language or another. But that could have also been down to her age as well. 

“Taka-kun!” She called brightly when she saw him duck in. She was putting a dustpan away behind the counter. “I didn’t think I’d see you today— _Ara! Nani sono kao? Doushita no_?” 

“It’s nothing Obaachan, Keith just got hurt the other day when he was sparring with his uncles. You have any of that balm you make for sore muscles? I think it might help the bruise.” He did his best to pull some happiness into his face before she caught on. He should have known better. 

“ _Kenka ka?”_

 _“_ Yeah, some weird yearly thing with his uncles.” 

“I mean you and him, Taka-kun.” 

“I don’t know,” he leaned against the counter. “One of his uncles went to the hospital last night—he won’t say more than that. I wasn’t home and ended up home _late_  so he was freaking out and he’s just been… down. All day.” 

She hummed and went upstairs to get the balm. Shiro examined some heliotrope on the counter. _Devotion and love_. He wondered if he could plant some around the house, how it’d do. He’d surround Keith with it if he could. 

His grandmother came back down. She took one look at him and shook her head. “ _Ano ko wa Taka-kun daisuki yo. Shinpai nanka iranai._ ”

 _“_ I know, I’m not worried if he still loves me or not, I’m just worried about him. How do you think heliotrope would do at the house?” 

The rest of the night was just as subdued as the day had been. Shiro had grabbed them a six pack on the way home. Keith had given him a weird look when he grabbed a second beer after his first with dinner. Shiro had shrugged, it wasn’t like it was strange for him to get another.

“It’s been a rough day.” He held the open beer out to Keith and Keith had taken it. Shiro had gone back to grab one for himself now that Keith had his. The one in Keith’s hand though, he realized later that night when he was cleaning, never got drunken. 

Keith had crawled into bed and fallen asleep long before Shiro, Yori curled around his legs. Shiro stayed up and watched him, looked at the long lines of his face. The thick chorded muscles along his arms and back. The bruise he’d so, so carefully soothed balm into while Keith held a brave face. The scar that ran up his jaw to his cheek. Unruly hair. Soft lips, even if they only stayed like that because Shiro strong armed him into a skincare routine. 

“Tomorrow will be better,” he whispered and curled around Keith. 

 

Tomorrow was not better. 

Shiro was at the club working with Sal, which he decided to get through by slowly sipping on whiskey all day. Then, when he was up to dance, the out of town business group was back and it was a repeat of the other night. This time though, one shot down and outside during a five minute break, he called Keith to see if he wanted to come up and drive him home. They could get the Jeep the next day when Shiro just had the bar. 

When he said it, only tipsy, not even halfway to plastered, it had sounded reasonable in his head. 

Keith had exploded. “So yer tellin’ me, that you’ve been drinking all day a work, and now you’re going to get fuckin’ wasted with these clients again because? You need the release?” 

Shiro frowned. “No, but it is more fun for everyone if I—“ 

“Whatever. Your vices. Have a fucking blast. When do you get off? Two in the fuckin’ morning again?” 

“Keith!” 

“Just text me when they leave and you’re ready. Don’t let your fuckin’ phone die this time.” 

The line went dead and Shiro stared at it in shock. Well, his not so sober self reasoned, if Keith was going to fly off the handle like that, there was no reason to not get tanked. He marched back into the club, sat down on the boss lady or whatever that was leading this group, took a shot of her drink—rum and coke, fantastic—and ripped his shirt off. 

“Ya’ll ready to get wild?” He asked thrusting his hips and bending over backwards to look at the rest of the table. They all started shouted and one called for another round with extra shots. 

Shiro smiled and lost himself to his craft. 

Wasted was an understatement for how drunk Shiro was by the end of the night. Keith picked him up, silent and furious. Shiro had winked at him and promptly passed out in the passenger seat of the truck. He woke back up to the driver’s side door slammed shut hard enough to jostle the truck. Keith was inside, slamming that door too, before Shiro could even reach for the door handle. Well, that this was going to be fun. 

He got himself out of the truck and into the house. The stairs proved a challenge but he managed them with Yori supporting him up them. When he got there the bedroom door was shut. “All right then.”  

Back downstairs was a hassle and a half. He missed the last two stairs but managed not to fall smack on his face. He couldn’t even muster the will to feel bad about where he was relegated to for sleep tonight. He just belly flopped on the couch and let himself slide into unconsciousness. 

It felt like only minutes later that the front door slammed closed. Sunlight pierced his eyes all the way into his brain. Giada was sitting on the floor below him and she peeped in concern. 

“Oh, baby, don’t look at papa right now,” Shiro grumbled and burrowed further into the couch. There was a crusty spot on the small cushion where he had been drooling. He flung the cushion away and saw his phone, lit up with a recent text from Keith. 

 _Get Lance or someone to get the Jeep. I’ve got work._  

He didn’t, today, Shiro knew that. He was off today, but apparently couldn’t even stand to be in the same plot of land as Shiro. He flipped the phone over and tried to discern if the need to cry was from the throbbing in his skull or the weight of what was happening around him. 

At length he was able to push himself up and drag himself into the downstairs shower. There weren’t a lot of products down here, just Keith’s all-purpose shower gel, but it would have to do. Shiro wasn’t sure his gut could handle stairs. Walking either, he found out, because once he hit the bathroom threshold he was ducking to the toilet to wretch up all of his poor decisions from the night before. 

It took a full half hour of intermittent puking to get his guts settled enough for a shower. The spray was freezing when it came out but he didn’t bother turning it much past lukewarm. Anything more and he felt like his guts would rebel again. In fact standing was a bit of a gamble. He let his back smack against the tile and slowly slid himself down onto the floor. 

Yes, he hadn’t helped anything by getting totally shitfaced last night. Yes, it was a really annoying thing to ask Keith up to drive him home, leaving the Jeep behind. But this there was no way this warranted a total freakout from Keith. It might’ve been Regris, but he was already out of the hospital and doing fine, Keith had said yesterday morning. He still had yet to explain _what_ had happened, but he kept brushing it off like it as nothing. And if it was more and he was letting it fester, that wasn’t Shiro’s fault. It wasn’t fair for Keith to take it out on him like that over something like this. 

His thoughts circled around each other until the shower bleed back into freezing temperatures. When he crawled out Yori was there, whining softly, a towel in her mouth. 

“Heh, good girl,” Shiro said and scratched her ear. He toweled off and scooped up his clothes, feeling together enough go upstairs and get fresh ones. He finished the rest of his regular routine up there, going slow and trying to focus on each movement and not the ache in his head. He was glad he just had the bar shift today, even if it was with Sal. He couldn’t put his heart into dancing feeling like this. 

Fresh clothes on and feeling a bit better Shiro went back downstairs for water, pain killers, and whatever food was in the fridge. He wasn’t hopeful that Keith had left him anything, even leftovers. 

He made himself toast to start, letting crumbs fall for Giada to peck at. He’d get food from the bar later when is stomach was in better shape. In the living room his phone pinged and Shiro felt his guy drop. He wasn’t sure if he could handle more from Keith right now. 

When he mustered up the courage to go and look he saw it was from Lance, telling him what time he’d be around to pick him up. Shiro wasn’t surprised to see that it was about an hour from now, given how slow he’d been moving all day.  

With nothing much else to do he headed out to the rabbits to sit with them. Their antics always cheered him up when everything else felt like it was falling apart. He wasn’t sure that things had felt quite this bad before though. 

Lance’s Mustang rolled up while Shiro was still sitting by the hutches, Madame Featherby in his lap. 

“Hey man, you ready?” 

“Yeah, let me get her back in and I’ll be good.” He gave her a kiss on the head and tucked her back into the hutch, closing it securely. Closing the pen the hutch was located in was a bit more of a process—thanks to Yori—and he was surprised that Lance stayed quiet through it. 

“Something up, Lance? You’re not talking my ear off about how Allura was wearing her hair the other day. Or how you want to strangle Veronica.” He finished the final latch and turned to look at Lance who looked… sheepish. 

“Yeah, well. Not much news you know. On uh, my end,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. 

Right. “Keith told you?” 

“No, not exactly. He just was very um, there were a lot of embellishments and I read between the lines.” Lance said. “You okay?” 

Shiro licked his lips. “No, not really. But I’m not sure what can be done right now so no use in dwelling on it.” 

“Right. Well, come on, let’s get going. Even if he’s pissed if I don’t get you to work on time I’m sure he’ll shit a brick about it.” Lance laughed.  

“Why would he do that?” 

“Dude,” Lance said. “He’s in so deep for you. I don’t know what happened but whatever he’s all angsty about it because he loves you so much. I’ve only ever seen him get like this over his family before. Don’t worry, he’ll get over himself and his emotional constipation soon.”

Shiro drove the Jeep home that night. He’d stuck around after his shift for a drink with Nyma, just a beer. He’d texted as much to Keith so he knew when Shiro was getting home. The text back was no better than the night before. 

 _Whatever. Do what you want._  

When he got home the bedroom door was closed again. 

 

The next few days produced produced no change in Keith. Shiro had tried texting him the first day, saying he missed him this morning, or a picture of vegetables coming in, but there was no response. His grandmother gave him a wide berth at the shop, but sent him constant knowing looks that were driving him up the wall. At night when he texted he was coming home he got minimal back. Once he was met with snide questions about how much he’d had to drink to get through the night this time. Was he sure he didn’t need someone to come and bail him out?

Shiro didn’t dignify those with an answer. 

He was on bar duty again, with Sal, and instead of listening to whatever he was going on about Shiro let what Lance said swim around in his head. Keith was worked up into a rage because he loved Shiro. The more he thought about it the more it started to make sense. Keith lost it whenever any of his family, his animals, or Shiro was threatened in any way, not just the Galra overreaction thing either. This was a habit that had preceded them even meeting. A habit that had led Shiro to Keith’s house that night two years ago.

When Sal left, finally, and Nyma came in he gave her a very abridged version of what was going on. 

“And after Lance saying that… I’m just trying to pinpoint what exactly set him off. Why he’s acting like this.” He let himself fall forward onto the bar. There were very few patrons right now and he didn’t really care if he looked pathetic. The couch was awful and his back killed. 

“So he flies off the handle when people he cares about are threatened, right?” 

“No so bad, always, but to an extent. Yes.” Shiro had to concede that point. 

"Well, Lance said he got like this with people like his family, right? All angry and non-responsive?” Nyma said slowly. 

“Yeah,” Shiro said into his folded arms. 

“So he’s trying to protect them from themselves, probably. You know, getting angry about self-destructive behavior. And he can’t exactly beat the people he loves up, so he gets like this, maybe?” She shrugged, but there was a lot of merit to what she was saying. 

“Nyma, you’re a genius.” Shiro kissed her cheek. “Also I’m going to ask that you let me leave now so I can go hunt down Lance.” 

“God, yes, your pouting is killing any mood we do have.” She swatted him on the ass as he walked past her. “Go get ‘em pretty boy.” 

The drive back to Lion was a blur, but he knew Lance would be at the local bar, sipping beer with Hunk and failing to not look at Allura every five seconds. He never stayed too late though and Shiro hoped he’d be able to catch him. 

Sure enough Lance was at the bar nursing a beer chatting to some other local farm boys. Hunk was nowhere in sight though, which Shiro was a bit grateful for. This was possibly not a conversation for more than just him and Lance. 

“Shiro!” Lance shouted when he caught sight of him. “What are you doing here?” 

“Looking for you,” Shiro said throwing Lance a grin. He gestured to their usual table where Lance waxed poetic about his love life woes and Shiro listened as patiently as he could. Really, Allura wasn’t going to respond to any advances until she decided to and clearly she was okay with the status quo for now. He wasn’t sure why Lance was still putting himself through the hurt. 

He sat down at their booth without waiting for Lance, still trying to figure out how best to word this. Lance slid in seconds later, still looking very confused. 

“You don’t want anything?” He asked. 

Shiro shook his head. “No, not tonight I think… I think it might be related to our fight.”

“Shit.” Lance whistled low. “He’s _still_ mad? What the hell did you do?” 

“I don’t know,” Shiro admitted, the weight of it felt crushing. “Not exactly. But I have an idea. You were friends with Keith in high school right?” 

“Yeah. I mean he would never admit it, but we were. Why?” Lance frowned, his long fingers picked at the label on his beer. 

“How well do you know his uncles?” 

“The Blades?” Lance snorted. “Better than I’d like. They’re terrifying but I mean I know them well enough. Krolia and Kolivan may be the only sane ones among them, but yeah.” 

Shiro went in for the kill. “What do you know about Regris?” 

Instantly Lance’s face fell and really that was all Shiro needed to see. Lance’s focus on scraping the label off the beer bottle doubled. “Why Regris?” 

“Please, Lance. He was in the hospital and Keith won’t tell me why.” 

Lance winced and took a long drag of his beer. “Keith is gonna kill me, but… but you do need to know. Because you’re probably right.” Lance sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Regris is an addict. I don’t remember what his vices are exactly, but I can tell you that a trip to the hospital, one that’s set Keith off this bad, means that he OD’d. Again.” 

Shiro had started to suspect something like this, but in hindsight he wasn’t sure how he didn’t see it sooner. Krolia tailing him at the barbecue. Regris’s too bright smile. Keith freaking out when Shiro said he decided to drink as a distraction which started this whole downward spiral. 

“I got pretty drunk two nights last week. It’s why you needed to drive me in that day, I had to leave my Jeep at the club the night before.”

“Oh fuck,” Lance took another long swig. “Yup, that’d do it. Have there been any updates on Regris?” 

“Just that he’s out of the hospital.” Though out to where Keith never said. The word ‘home’ had never come up. “Thank you, Lance. I don’t know if I would have ever gotten Keith to spill that. At least not anytime soon. And I really don’t want another night on the couch.” 

“Anytime man.” 

“Come on, I’ll get your beer for you. Then I gotta go confront this.” 

 

The house was quiet already when he got there. The kitchen light was off, and so was the living room in the deepening dusk. That meant Keith had already ducked into bed again. Shiro turned the Jeep off and sat there staring at the house that had become his home. _Their_ home. They could fix this. 

He took his time greeting the dogs and Giada, making enough noise to alert Keith that he was home. He half hoped it would lure Keith out, him being home early, but no dice. He pressed a kiss to Giada’s soft down and set her in her pen. “Pray for papa baby girl. Gotta go face the wrath of your dad.” 

He still wasn’t sure what he was going to say. He didn’t know what was going to get through to Keith, but he had to try. This had gone on for much too long already, and now, with the almost full picture, he could see how scared Keith was about all of this, for whatever reason. 

The bedroom door was closed. He knocked but there was no response. Luck was on his side though because when he tried the handle it wasn’t locked. “Keith?” He called softly looking in. 

Keith was curled on his side, tablet propped in front of him as he flicked through something. He didn’t even twitch in Shiro’s direction. “Baby, come on. We need to talk.” 

Nothing. 

Might as well smash it open, Shiro thought. “I talked to Lance. He told me about Regris.” 

There, a reaction at last. It was Keith’s eyes sliding to Shiro with an icy stare but it was something. 

“Wasn’t his place to do that.” 

“Maybe not,” Shiro said and stepped fully into the room, closing the door again behind him. “But I asked and he told me. Because it has to do with this,” he gestured between them, “and I needed to know _what_ was going on. Because you won’t talk to me.” 

Keith turned back to the tablet. 

“All right. I’m going to spell out what I think is going on here, but by all means Keith, correct me and clue me in as to what the fuck is going on because I’m about ready to tear my hair out.” That got no response either, but Keith wasn’t trying to kick him out. Shiro took a gamble and sat down on the edge of the bed by Keith’s feet. 

“I think,” he started. “That you got a call from your mom about Regris ODing. And I think you spent that night in the hospital worried sick and hurt by someone who keeps hurting himself. I think me not picking up and coming home wasted didn’t help anything, because I looked like what you spent the night at the hospital with.” He paused, waiting for Keith to say something. When he didn’t Shiro forged on. 

“I think we almost made it out of this okay. But then I did it again, and that looked like a habit. And how could you deal with it on one front with your Uncle while it was starting up at home. That’s what you’re thinking, isn’t it?” Silence stretched between them. Shiro reached out put his hand around Keith’s foot, rubbing it gently. “Keith, _please_.” 

“You said you did it the first night to distract yourself,” Keith murmured, voice rough and raw with emotion. “You said it was to take your mind off bein’ worried. Well, that’s what Regris does. He takes pills and drinks and huffs up whatever he can so he can take his mind off his PTSD.” 

Shiro shut his eyes and squeezed Keith’s foot. There it was. There was the lynchpin in this whole thing. “You’re worried I’m doing the same thing.” 

“Can ya blame me?” Keith said, voice broken and tearful. “I can’t _do_ it Takashi. I can’t.” 

“Oh, baby, come here.” Shiro pulled and just like that Keith flung himself into Shiro’s arm, sobbing. “What I meant was I was using work as a distraction. And, yes, that involved getting drunk, but if I drink with the tables I get better tips. It was an accident, the first time.” 

Keith sniffled. “’N the second time?” 

Shiro chuckled. “I was being petty. You were short on the phone and I’d already had one shot and day whiskey so I… so drunk me stupidly decided to prove you right.” 

Keith laughed wetly into Shiro’s neck. “That was really stupid.”

“Very.” Shiro ran his hands up and down Keith’s back, feeling whole for the first time in days with this man in his arms. “I’m sorry baby. But if you’d told me what was going on, everything, this could have been avoided.” 

“I know.” Keith leaned back and wiped a hand over his face. “I’m not good at opening up. Even with you.” He bit his lip. “But I promise I’ll try and do better. I’m sorry.” 

Shiro ran a hand through Keith’s hair, petting it back from his face so he could cup his jaw properly. “I love you.” 

“I love you, too.” 

“How is he? Really?” Shiro wanted to know. He liked Regris, and this was a scary thing to find out. 

Keith sniffled again. “He’s at a home. Ninety day program. Not the first time, but this place came with real high doctor’s recommendation so we’re hopin’ it’ll take this time.” 

“Okay. I hope it does too.” He leaned and pressed his forehead against Keith’s and rocked them back and forth slowly, relishing in the contact he’d missed. 

It wasn’t clear who initiated but soon enough hot, open mouthed kissed were being passed between them. It was slow, and tender. Coming back together after being almost violently apart. Shiro licked his way into Keith’s mouth and ran his hand up his thighs when Keith moaned. 

Their clothes came off slowly. Keith’s shirt first, after which Shiro had to lick and kiss and nip at his chest, paying close attention to nipples. It never failed to really get Keith going. Shiro’s shirt was next and Keith pet his abs like they were one of the dogs. 

“Missed these,” he sighed. 

“Missed this more,” Shiro whispered in his ear, sliding a smooth hand down into Keith’s pants. His cock was hot and hard and Shiro needed it inside of him _now_. He tilted them back onto the bed, Keith spread out below him like every wet dream Shiro had ever had. 

It wasn’t long until they were both naked and Shiro was on his knees over Keith, three lubed fingers deep up his ass as he put on a show for Keith. Keith’s hands pet his thighs and teased lightly at his cock as he prepped himself. He never felt more beautiful than when Keith was looking at him with adoration in those indigo eyes. 

Shiro pulled his fingers out with a sigh and fumbled for the lube. Keith chuckled and found it first, uncapping it and pouring a generous amount over his thick cock. Shiro smiled and spread the lube over Keith’s cock, relishing the sounds he made. 

He seated himself slowly, setting up an unhurried pace. He wanted this to last, he wanted Keith to see how much he loved this, loved _him_. When he was fully impaled on Keith’s cock, thick and hot inside of him, he lifted slowly and ground back down. 

“Fuck, Shiro, you feel so good.” 

Shiro clenched down on Keith’s cock, wringing a strangled sound from him. He flexed his thighs, keeping his slide up and down slow and steady. Keith writhed below him, caressing whatever part of Shiro he could get his hands on. Shiro made a show of it, leaning this way and that, arching for his lover. Keith ate it up. 

Eventually need took over the desire to keep this slow and passionate. Keith rose up, abs flexing hard and pulled his legs under him, kneeling to better thrust up into Shiro. Shiro clung to him, finally close enough to kiss the man properly. It was a desperate mix of teeth and tongue brought down to open mouth panting by the end of it. Keith came in small, shuddering grunts, filling Shiro up. He could feel Keith’s come already dripping between his ass cheeks as Keith gave a few final twitches. That feeling couple with Keith’s hand curling around him had him shooting between them with a broken shout. Keith slipped out but they stayed like that, tight against each other, for a long moment. 

Keith tenderly deposited Shiro on the bed and retrieved a wet washcloth to clean them off with. He went over Shiro with such aching care Shiro wanted to cry. Everywhere he cleaned Keith followed with chaste, reverent kisses. Shiro tried to reciprocate but Keith shook his head. 

“Let me,” he rasped. “Please. I need to make up for not being there the past few days.” 

“It’s in the past, baby,” Shiro said. “Just come here.” 

Keith fell into his arms. 

They slept soundly that night. At least until Yori popped in on top of them. 

“Damnit Yori!” 

 


	5. That Time Keith Couldn't Follow Through On His Own Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Thursday night at Bob's - no better reason than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Get pancakes y’all because this is full of SAP. Slight AU-Cannon divergence… which is a thing we say in YEEHAW??!? Because this AU is it’s own damn entity. All Hail [Buffshiro](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en)/ [Tofuloo](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/).
> 
> My kink is Allura tossing grown men around like rag dolls.

 

Bob’s was packed. The sticky floors and stickier tables crowed with Lion patrons. Keith felt like he was doing Tai Chi getting the beers back to their table. It was a slow process, but getting all five beers from the bar was faster than waiting for a waitress to finally notice them in the din. 

Keith recognized maybe half of the people in here, the rest looked like out of town faces that Bob’s somehow attracted. No one questioned _the_ Bob or how he got customers to come in and stay. Bob was a total jackass. But here they all were, drinking at Bob’s. 

Keith made it back to their corner booth with the beers intact and unspilt. Lance, Allura, Pidge, and Hunk were all huddled in there, passing stories from the week back and forth with easy smiles and laughter. When Keith came up Hunk immediately bust into polite golf claps as Keith handed the beers out. 

“Thank you, thank you,” he said nodding. “Happy to be of service. Now, champagne of beers for Lance because he’s a basic bitch.” Keith said as he passed the bottles out. 

“Hey! Just because Shiro couldn’t make it doesn’t mean you get to use his insults in his stead.” Lance took his Miller High Life and immediately started slamming it back in protest. “How many times did he say it?” He asked around the lip when he had to pause to breathe. 

“Not my fault you fall fer shitty marketing,” Keith shrugged. “I didn’t say it was for you so no ‘dumb-dumbs’ from Bob, you’re welcome. An’ if you drink the damn thing that fast you’re gettin’ the next one yourself. The… grapefruit… fuck I don’t know what this is or how to even read this hipster ass label. Here Hunk. Strongbow for Pidge. And for Allura and I, two local stouts from Kaltenecker’s. Like real men.” 

“Here here!” Allura said, taking her tall stout and clinking it against Keith’s. They both took a long sip and Keith sat down next to Lance. 

He leaned over and frowned at Keith’s beer. “It’s as black as your soul, I don’t know how you drink that stuff.” 

Keith licked the foam from his upper lip. “Don’t worry Lance, you’ll get into dark beers once you hit puberty.” 

“Oh leave him and his weak beer alone,” Allura said. “Not everyone has off-world tolerance for a 13%.” 

Keith snorted. Somehow this, Thursday nights at Bob’s, had become tradition in the past two years. Originally it had been Lance and Shiro. Then Keith started coming along when they started dating. Hunk had Thursday’s off from the diner so he came up too, and when he started coming up so did Pidge, pending work for grad school was done. Allura was a later addition, but Keith liked having her around more. She’d been a part of their friend group for while, but she drifted when she dated Lotor for a stint, and then again when she was studying at the police academy.  It was nice having her around again, even if it meant Lance’s furious crush had been rekindled for a hot minute. It had settled faster than in their youth, Lance simmering down to just being friends with her easily now that they were out of their teen years. 

“So why is Shiro not here again?” Pidge asked fidgeting in her seat a bit. She’d been acting a little nervous all night and Keith still couldn’t put a finger on it. She’d been pushing her glasses around, twiddling her thumbs. She’d even hung out by the door longer than usual before trying to find their table. Keith knew Pidge would come forward with whatever it was in good time and decided not to press it. 

“Work, Rolo sprained something yesterday so he was on bar duty until about seven and then he’s covering the rest of the night.” Keith took a sip of his beer. “There’s a chance if Kinkade can get out of his other job early Shiro’s off the hook, but no word yet.” 

“Oh. Well. That’s a bummer.” Pidge started passing her Strongbow back and forth between her hands.

The table fell into a stifled silence. Hunk was frowning slightly at the grooves in the table. Allura’s mouth was twisting in and out of a grimace as she tried, and failed, to not look at Pidge. Lance’s eye was just about twitching. Keith caught the tell and lifted his hand to put on Lance’s arm to stop whatever he was going to do but he was a second too late. 

“Okay, Pidge, what’s up?” He bit out. 

Everyone at the table jumped at his bluntness except Keith. He knew Lance was going to do this and he geared up for Pidge to get defensive, but Lance, oh Lance, opened his damn mouth again. 

“Not that you have to tell us,” Lance added hastily, his tone much softer. “But you’ve been antsy all night, you’re bummed Shiro isn’t here, so there’s obviously something you feel like you need to tell us.” He sighed. “If, you’re ready, that is.” 

Keith was certain his mouth was dangling open. Then again Lance had grown up, they all had. Keith clicked his mouth shut, realizing just how much his friend had changed in the past few years. 

Pidge wasn’t much better, eyes wide as saucers. “Well…” she looked down, fidgeting with her glasses again. “Okay. You’re right. There is something I need to tell you guys, and I wish Shiro was here, but I know you’ll tell him, right Keith?” 

“Of course,” Keith promised. He leaned forward toward Pidge. He could feel the worry rising in his ribcage. Pidge rarely got this serious about anything other than research. 

“Whatever you need to tell us Pidge, we’re here for you,” Allura said. She reached over the table and laid her hand over Pidge’s on the Strongbow bottle. 

Hunk threw an arm around Pidge’s shoulders. “You’re my best friend. I don’t think anything you’ve got to tell us can be that bad.” He gave Pidge a soft, knowing smile. Maybe Hunk had an idea what this might be about then. 

Pidge took a deep breath, eyes closed for a moment, before opening them bright and determined. “Okay. So I’ve been thinking, a lot lately, about myself and who I am and… and I did an experiment at grad school. Just to see how it would feel and… and it felt great. And I realized I really, really want to feel that way in every place in my life.” Pidge started fishing for something in a pocket. “I already told my family and I actually went to the DMV with my mom the same day but…” Pidge’s driver’s license was tossed on the table in clear view for them all. “I don’t identify as a gender. I’d like to start going by the pronouns They and Them.”

The group leaned forward as a unit to see, under ‘sex’, a very clear NB marked on Pidge’s license. There was a half a second of pure silence at the table as they all took it in and then it erupted into noise. 

“Pidge! I’m so proud of you!” 

“Aw Pidge, that’s what it was? You didn’t have to be so nervous, of course it’s fine!”

“Pidge I am so happy for you and that you shared this with us.” 

“Thanks for tellin’ us, Pidge,” Keith leaned across the table and ruffled their hair for good measure. “I’ll be sure to let Shiro know. He’ll understand that you wanted let us know as soon as ya could.” 

Pidge smiled, their shoulder’s finally relaxing for the first time that night. “Thanks guys. I knew it wouldn’t be a big deal with you but it’s still a change and… and I’m sorry I didn’t say sooner, but I wanted to be sure.”

“Completely understandable,” Allura said. She smiled sweetly at Pidge, “It’s a big thing, and telling people is something you always have to do in your own time. Of course we understand that.” 

“Totally,” Lance said. He clinked his bottle against Pidge’s. “You know… unless you get caught with James Griffin’s hand down you pants in your room and suddenly you realize you forgot to tell your mom you were bi.” 

“She wasn’t the only one who caught you,” Keith mumbled. He took a long, long, swig of beer, trying to forget the fact he knew just how far down Lance could blush. 

“Yeah man, locks are there for a reason,” Hunk said. He was looking at his own beer like he’d like to drown in it. 

“I’m aware of that! I was a teenager!” Lance sputtered. 

Pidge snorted. “I think we all knew how locks worked by the age of twelve. Well, I assumed we had.”

“Oh leave him be you all,” Allura said. “Youth is for mistakes.” 

“Thank you!” Lance crowed. He went to triumphantly take a drink but came up empty. “Damnit. Get up Keith.” 

Keith resolutely stayed still. “Magic words.” 

Lance groaned. “Pretty, pretty please?” 

Keith took a sip of is beers. “Thems ain’t the magic words.” 

“Oh fuck you Keith,” Lance growled, looked down, and in a single breath breathed, “Shiro’sassisamightyfineassaveryveryfineasssodon’tyoudaresassorpauseandpassonthatdamnfineass.” 

Hunk cleared his throat and leaned forward, “I’m, I’m sorry Lance what was that, I didn’t quite hear you.” A hand was cupped around Hunk’s ear for effect. Allura was steadily giggling behind her hands. Pidge, bless them, started tapping out a beat on the table with their bottle. Lance closed his eyes. Which was lucky, because Keith pulled out his phone. 

“I hate you all,” Lance muttered. Then, louder, and with appropriate gusto, recited, “Shiro’s ass is a mighty fine ass, a very very fine ass, so don’t you dare sass, or pause and pass on Shiro’s damn-mighty- fine-ass.” 

“Ya ain’t even here and we got him to say it,” Keith said and hit the stop button on record. 

Lance’s eyes flew open. “You ASSHOLE!” He started swatting and Keith and Keith darted out of the table and as far out of Lance’s way as he could. 

“Aw c’mon Lance! You’ll make his night!” Keith cajoled, making sure to hit ‘send’ on the video before Lance could knock it out of his hands. 

“Keith!”

“HEY! DUMB-DUMB! Stop making a ruckus!” 

Lance deflated, glaring at Keith. “I hate everyone in this damn bar.” He trudged off to get a beer from Bob, who was still hurling insults at Lance as he went. 

“I really wish he wasn’t so mean to Lance,” Allura said, still fighting giggles from the little poem recitation. 

“I don’t think he knows how to turn it off,” Pidge said. “It’s like ingrained since Lance managed to fall _over_  the bar and onto Bob.”

Hunk nodded solemnly. “Though in his defense though he was very, very drunk on Nunvill.” He tilted his head and grimaced suddenly. “Oh god someone put on Nickleback. Pidge! To the Jukebox!” Hunk grabbed Pidge and yanked them off to the jukebox.

Keith watched his friends go and chuckled. “Shiro’s missin’ a good night.” 

“Mmm.” 

Allura was reclined back against the booth, beer in hand, staring intently at something across the way. Her eyes looked deep in thought, but there was a soft openness to her face Keith had rarely seen. He followed her gaze and for the second time that night he was looking at Lance in shock. He turned back to Allura, and back again, just to be sure, but there it was. Allura was looking at Lance like… like Shiro looked at him back in those early days. When Keith was introducing him to chickens and driving him out to meet Rosie. When he spent three days learning how to fold singles into flowers so he could give them to Shiro at the end of his set.

Keith cleared his throat. “Y’know, you know someone your whole life. You know them for so long you get this image of them in your head. It’s permanent like. This is who this person is, and that’s that.” He waited for Allura to tear her gaze away from Lance and look at him. “Sometimes we get real comfortable in who we knew that person was, and we forget to let them grow in our minds too.” He deliberately glanced at Lance and back to Allura. Her cheeks were glowing in the low light. 

She blinked a few times and then a slow, soft smile blossomed over her face. “You know Keith, I think you’re absolutely right.” She let out a single sharp breath, as if to steel herself, and downed the rest of her beer. Once she slammed it down she shimmied herself out of their booth and _marched_ to the bar. 

Keith nearly spit out his beer when she got there. 

Lance, who had been arguing with Bob about his drink most like, shrieked very loudly as he was scooped up bridal style. Allura held him there, looking as soft and radiant as ever with a grown-ass sputtering man in her arms. There was one split-second of hesitation on her face before she bent down and kissed Lance soundly on the mouth. Lance immediately went limp in shock, but it didn’t last long. Once his brain caught up he enthusiastically kissed her back and the bar erupted into wolf whistles and shouts. 

Pidge and Hunk were back at the booth out of nowhere. 

“Did you know about this?” Pidge squeaked. They looked like they were witnessing a white-hole.

“Sure as shit did not know a damn thing,” Keith said. He’d been under the impression this was a new development for Allura. Apparently it was something she’d been sitting on for a while. 

Beside him Hunk and Pidge burst into theories about how this could have happened without any of them realizing. Lance clearly hadn’t been expecting it because even from their booth they could hear him loudly trying to put together what just happened and the fact that it was real. He was also still very securely in Allura’s arms. She was smiling down at him like he was the most precious thing she had ever seen. 

It did something to Keith’s insides, watching Allura say a mighty ‘fuck it’ and go for what she wanted. 

There had been a box in his truck for a year now. Inside of it was a titanium ring, a little thing Keith had nearly lost his mind over trying to pick out, but in the end he landed on that one. It was infinity style, and looked like two bands constantly intertwining around each other, like he and Shiro. He got it out at least once a week, stared at it, and tucked it away. It wasn’t quite the right day. Or it wasn’t the weather Shiro loved most. Or the day hadn’t been perfect enough, because Shiro deserved nothing less than perfection. There was always something that had Keith putting the ring back into the sunglass compartment of the truck and praying Shiro never went looking in there for anything. 

But looking at Allura, holding Lance like he was the thing she was looking for all along and not giving a shit about timing or who was watching… that was something. Pidge coming out to them even though it wasn’t the conditions that they wanted. Those things, those were _real_. Shiro deserved that. Keith could never give him perfection, perfection wasn’t really real. But he could give him everything Keith was, right now. 

And he wanted to.

Keith’s phone pinged and he saw he had a text from the man himself. He opened it with shaking hands, trying not to think about how much this felt like providence. 

_Hey baby, thank you for the video! Glad to see traditions hold up even without me there. Kinkade showed up! I’m home now, don’t know how much longer you’ll be but I’m gonna try and whip up a surprise for you ;)_

That meant Shiro was going to try and cook, which meant the kitchen was going to be a disaster and Keith— _fuck_  Keith loved him. 

He glanced at his beer, only a third gone in the past forty-five minutes of revelations. Perfect, he could safely drive. He shot up, shoved past a bewildered Hunk and Pidge, and went to where Allura was _still_ holding Lance. 

“Lance, really, I can put you down now—“ 

“Nononono! If you put me down this could all disappear!” 

“Lance…”

“Hey! Lovebirds!” Keith barked. They both startled, Lance clinging harder to Allura’s neck. “Yeah hi, okay. So uh, this,” he gestured at them, “is great. Inspirational. I’ve uh, been _inspired_ , so thank you. And I need your help because I don’t think I can wait anymore.” 

Lance finally slid out of Allura’s arms, eyes bugging out of his head. “Are you serious?” 

“Yes. Dead. I need you to, to get Bob to somehow let me have the stage. Shiro got home early and I’ll be back in a half an hour with him, maybe a bit longer. But I’ve gotta get my parents here and—Allura can you see if Coran can drive Miss Michiko in? Just, I need everyone here by the time I get back with him ’n my guitar.” He was out of breath, unsure if he’d be able to catch it at this rate. 

Lance was grinning like a loon. “Fucking finally! Okay, I’ve got a handle on texting everyone, you go get your ass home and get back here. Babe, we’ve got work to do!”

“Thank you, you’re the best, no I’m not repeating that ever again!” Keith tore through the bar before he could hear Lance’s quip back. He had a man to get to. 

 

Pulling up the gravel driveway Keith was certain his heart was in his throat. This would be easy. Grab Shiro, tell him what happened with Pidge coming out and Allura jumping Lance. Convince him to come up to Bob’s where Keith was going to play because it was a night to celebrate. He recited it in his head at least six times, turning the box over and over in his hands. He had to pocket it now or he was going to forget, or get too nervous and back out. 

Through the kitchen window over the porch he could see Shiro moving back and forth. He was mouthing something which meant he was singing or talking to the animals. 

“Here we go Kogane,” Keith whispered to himself and got out of the truck. 

Inside Nicki Minaj was playing in the background and over her rapping Keith could hear Shiro talking to the animals like he thought. When he was in sight of the kitchen he could see flour just about everywhere but inside the actual standing mixer. There was what looked like the ingredients for chocolate cake on the counter, from scratch, which Shiro certainly didn’t know how to do. Beau and Stella were sniffing around the flour on the floor. Yori was backed against the far wall, trying to keep away from Shiro’s fallout. The man himself was also covered in flour and was currently holding an egg, looking down at Giada with a contrite expression. 

“Oh honey I am so sorry. No, no look away Giada, oh god I’m a horrible father. I am so sorry I feel horrible about this—“ 

“God I wanna marry you.” 

Shiro’s head snapped up and he caught sight of Keith. “What?” 

Well. There goes the plan. Keith bit his lip and walked forward enough to sink down on a knee in front of Shiro. The box wouldn’t come out of his back pocket smoothly, his hands were shaking so badly. Shiro was staring down at him, still holding a damn egg, eyes glassy and wide. 

He set the box on his knee and thought about everything he'd thought at the bar. He opened his mouth to say all that but instead he said, “Of fuckin’ course you’re listening to Nicki Minaj while tryin’ to destroy the kitchen when I do this. Always tryin’ to cook er bake and babe, you are so bad at it. Like, like your eggplant lasagna. Darlin’ I can barely get that down but you smiled so bright that first time you made it and I put it in my mouth I just kept lying because I love you so damn much. An’ my bathtub is going to have sparkles in it for the rest of eternity and I’m never gonna be able to raise my own livestock to eat because you name _everything_ including the damn plants in the vegetable garden and everything, every little thing about that is why I never one to spend one damn day without you.” His hands were still shaking but he managed to get the box open. 

Shiro sank down in front of him, egg in his metal hand, flesh hand pressed over his mouth. He let out a sob when he saw the ring and his grey eyes flashed back up to Keith. 

“Takashi Shirogane, will you marry me?” 

“Yes!” Shiro tackled him, saying yes so many times the word blurred together into an unintelligible mess on his tongue. 

Keith choked and started crying too, hot tears streaming down his face. “I love you so much Takashi.”

Shiro pulled back and pulled them both up standing. “Fuck, Keith. I never… I didn’t ever think I could love someone as much as I love you. Baby I love you. Oh god I love you.” He looked at the ring again. “C-can I…”

“Oh shit, yes.” Keith carefully took Shiro’s hand in his and slipped the ring on. He was happy to see that his little string trick while Shiro had been sleeping worked. It fit. “It’s titanium. It’s one of the strongest metals on Earth and that just… you’re so _strong_ Takashi, in so many ways. An’ it’s durable so it won’t scratch when—“

“When I’m doing pole work,” Shiro breathed. He was looking at the ring in utter awe. “Oh my god I’m still holding an egg.”

Keith burst into laughter and took the egg from Shiro’s hand and set it down on the counter. “C’mere you.” 

Shiro went, pushing Keith up against the counter in a heavy kiss. Keith moaned when Shiro’s tongue slipped inside and he leaned back against the counter to get better leverage. 

And leaned right into the stand mixer. 

The damn thing turned on, showering them both in more flour and they broke into laughter. It took several minutes for them to regain enough composure to turn the damn thing off, by which time there was a dusting of white all over the kitchen. Yori was barking at the mixer in agitation and the other two dogs were still trying to lick flour up. Giada clucked forlornly. 

Shiro pulled Keith back in and held him, swaying gently there in the kitchen to a poorly timed Nicki Minaj song in the middle of a flour explosion. Keith lost himself to the moment, the sweet nothings Shiro was whispering wetly into his ear and the feeling of this wonderful man in his arms. 

Until his phone started blowing up in his back pocket. 

“Oh shit!” Keith bounced back and pulled out his phone. 

_All ready for you lover boy!!_

_“_ Fuck,” Keith laughed, incredulous. Of course it happened like this. “Fuck.” 

“What, what is it?” Shiro asked, instantly on high alert. 

Keith snorted. “I _had_ a plan, but you had to be all, perfect and you and it went right outta my head.” Keith sighed and took his hat off in exasperation. “I was _gonna_  take you back to the bar, where all’ve our friends and family are, by now, and serenade you and _then_  ask ya to marry me.”

Without batting an eyelash Shiro yanked the ring off and shoved it at Keith. “Let’s go!” 

“ _What?!_ ” 

“Come on! We gotta get the flour off us! And get your guitar!” 

“Shiro! Shiro I already—“ 

“I know.” Shiro kissed him and then started trying to shake all the flour off himself. “I know, but that sounds so fucking romantic and I want that too. Plus,” he grinned, “everyone is waiting for _you_ to do something insanely romantic in public. I’m not letting you off the hook on that count.” 

“I take it back. I’m gonna go marry Coran, he’s nice and won’t do this to me—Shiro!” 

Shiro had picked Keith up around the waist and was headed for the stairs. “Come on! I’m not gonna be late to my own engagement!” 

“You already said yes you idiot!” 

“Well maybe I won’t this time!” Shiro dropped Keith back down on the first stair. He had his face scrunched up in anger but he couldn’t keep it, a smile cracking through very obviously. 

“You’re the most ridiculous man I have ever met.” Keith kissed him. “And I am going to marry the shit outta you.” 

“Not if you don’t get us to that bar! Go! Go get your guitar!” 

Keith laughed and raced up the stairs to do just that. When he came back down Shiro was mostly dusted off and holding out his hand. “C’mon babe, let’s get engaged.” 

They piled into the car and Keith, for the life of him, couldn’t stop laughing. It was hard to keep his eye off of Shiro, gorgeous and flushed, who was trying to get them both to get their act together. 

“Right,” Keith giggled. “Right. Oh! Okay, so we’re headed to the bar to celebrate two things. That’s why I came back to get ya.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yup. One, Pidge has something to tell ya. Good news so don’t worry, but I’ll let Pidge do it.” 

Shiro nodded. “All right, and the other thing?” 

Keith grinned like the devil. “Allura got with Lance.” 

“WHAT!?” 

Keith burst into laughter. “Oh my god, Shiro. She was looking at him all intense an’ so I said somethin’ ‘bout it and she just gets up, _picks him up_ , and plants one on him.” 

“What the fuck! I can’t believe I missed that!” Shiro’s mouth was dangling much like Keith’s had. 

“Well,” Keith said, “If you hadn’t I don’t think I’d’ve realized I needed to stop waiting for the perfect moment to ask you to marry me.” They had reached the bar and Keith pulled into an empty spot. Once he’d parked Shiro leaned over and kissed him, warm and love poured into the action. 

“It was the perfect moment. And now we’re going to march in there, pretend like it didn’t happen, and have another one with everyone well love.”

“You’re crazy.” 

“You love it.” 

“I do. Let’s go.” 

Lance had really pulled it off. The stage was cleared and most of their family was standing around the bar—even the Blades. Keith did his best not to look like he as bursting out of his skin happy, but he kind of didn’t care either. He steered Shiro toward their friends first, and Shiro, bless him, acted like he hadn’t seen Kolivan sitting at a booth with his Grandmother. 

“Allura!” He shouted. “I heard you lost your mind!” 

Allura had her arm around Lance’s waist, pulled in close. “I have Shiro,” she said, that soft smile still all over her face. She leaned over and kissed Lance’s cheek. “I’m quite all right with it.” 

Lance was bright red and buzzing. “She picked me up.”

Shiro chuckled. “I heard. I also heard you were the other reason we’re celebrating?” He looked to Pidge. 

They looked much better than they had before their confession earlier. “I do! I have realized I do not identify as any gender and would like to go by they or them now, please and thank you. Documents have already been changed over.”

“Pidge!” Shiro picked them up and spun them around. “Oh my god that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you.” He set them down and gave them one last squeeze. “Well damn, I missed a good night.” 

Keith pressed a kiss to Shiro’s lips when he had stepped back into range. “S’ok, you’re here now. All right, stage mine?” 

“All yours buddy,” Lance said. The rest of the group looked curious but nothing more, which meant Lance had been able to get everyone here without telling them why. Even better. Keith gave Shiro one last kiss and went to the stage to set up. 

He’d already asked, Shiro had already give his answer, but his hand still started shaking again as he set up and tested the mic. As he tapped the din of the bar quieted down and he realized that somehow the unfamiliar faces had thinned and all the people he loved in the town were here, ready to watch him do the most nerve wracking thing he had ever done. For the second time in less than an hour. 

“Uh, g’evening everyone. I’m Keith, though I think most of ya know that. Well, I know it ain’t open mic night, but my group a’ friends over yonder have had a pretty great night and if it’s all right with ya’ll I’d like to cap that with a toast to them.” He was met with cheers and a couple of whistles. “All right then. This one is for Lance and Allura figuring it out. For Pidge finally going their distance and being true to themselves. And most of all for Takashi. This song came on the radio not long after we started datin’ and it’s been in my head since.”

He started in on the chords and sang.

_Would you go with me?_

_If we rolled down streets of fire?_

_Would you hold onto me tighter,_

_as the summer sun got higher,_

_if we rolled from town to town,_

_and never shut it down?_

He heard Shiro whistle loudly when he hit the low note. 

_Would you walk even closer?_

_Until the trip was over?_

_And would it be okay,_

_if I didn’t go away?_

The bar was loving it. After each verse they were losing it, and by the time he hit the chorus the first time some people started to catch on. Coran had a hand over his mouth midway through. Ezor started hitting her wife on the shoulder and looking like Christmas had come early. Even Lotor raised an eyebrow where he was sitting next to Acxa. 

Keith’s mother just winked at him and grabbed his father. 

_Would you go with me,_

_if we rode the clouds together?_

_Could you not look down forever,_

_if you were lighter than a feather,_

_oh and if I set you free, would you go with me?_

As he sang he looked at his parents, his mother enveloped in his father’s arms. Not far off Thace was discreetly holding Ulaz’s hand. Lance was slowly dancing Allura around in a small circle. 

_If I gave you my hand would you take it and make me the happiest man in the world?_

_If I told you my heart couldn’t beat one more minute without you, boy?_

_Would you accompany me to the edge of the sea,_

_help me tie up the ends of a dream?_

_I gotta know, would you go with me?_

He looked at Shiro, the man who had won over Keith down to his soul and felt himself choke on the lyrics with emotion. 

_I love you so, so would you go with me?_

He managed to finish off the last bits of guitar, tears gathering in his eyes again, before hopping off stage. Shiro was there, tears in his eyes too, and met Keith in a fiery kiss. The bar exploded but Keith couldn’t hear it. 

“I love you,” he rasped against Shiro’s neck. 

“Ask me you idiot before I really lose it,” Shiro whispered back. 

This time when Keith got on his knee it was smooth. The ring came out of his back pocket without issue.  The bar fell silent for him and Keith, blessedly, found his voice. “I’ve waited for every perfect moment to do this, but there won’t ever be one, whether I do this here with everyone, or if I did it in our kitchen covered in flour while you tried to prove you could bake.” There were polite giggles, but Keith was too busy to care, looking up into grey eyes that held his whole universe. “So, on this very real, very crazy night, Takashi Shirogane, would you marry me?” 

This time Shiro, without an egg in his hand, pulled Keith up and kissed him gently. “Yes,” he said against Keith’s lips. “Yes before, yes now, and yes forever Keith Kogane, I will marry you.” 

They kissed again before Keith got the ring on Shiro’s finger. For some reason he was pleasantly surprised it still fit. Shiro held it up for the bar and shouted, “I said yes!” 

If Keith thought then noise was bad before he’d been kidding himself. They were passed around friends and family congratulating them. Bob pulled out champaign from god knew where saying it was on the house. Keith lost track of how late they stayed, but Lotor, at some point, had cooly told him he had Friday off, so Keith didn’t really care. They were surrounded by love and this perfect, amazing, unreal man was really going to marry him. Keith kissed him as much as he could, inhibitions killed off by too many flutes of champaign. No one seemed to mind anyway. 

They made it back to the house at half-past three. The lights were all still on and as they shut them off, corralling animals, they decided to worry about the kitchen disaster in the morning. 

They piled into bed together, leaving the animals outside for the more tearful and talkative session of fucking they had ever had. Neither of them could go five seconds without telling the other they loved them. Keith had come with nothing but Shiro’s name on his lips like a prayer. Shiro hadn’t been much better when Keith pulled out and set to sucking him off like it was his sole purpose in life. From here on out it might as well have been. 

When they were sated, laying in the aftermath with Keith curled into Shiro’s side, Keith let himself trace the lines of the ring on Shiro’s finger. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was to have this. To have _him_. He said as much.

“Keith, me too. God I am so, so lucky to have you. To have you want me. To get to love you and you love me back.” He kissed Keith on the forehead and pulled back, staring at him in awe. A few sappy moments later he frowned a little though, like he’d remembered something. “Do you really hate my eggplant lasagna?” 

Keith laughed so hard he fell off the bed. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in love with [ this set](http://www.titaniumstyle.com/jewelry/1-088.html).


	6. That Time Keith Had To Roll For It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith learns how to tabletop game. 
> 
> Shiro makes Keith roll for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this house we stand Kinkade. 
> 
> All Hail [Buffshiro](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en)/ [Tofuloo](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/).

“Vankor the Destroyer, are you certain we cannot come to some kind of agreement here? This small town is of no value to you. Their worth is in crops, not gold or prestige. What would come of you razing a town when instead you can head North, and save your men for Hydran? Surely taking the great demon town would be a more worthy goal for a warrior of your…  _ standing _ . And if you need to sate some desire to display your  _ prowess, _ I’m sure there is an agreement we can come to on that score.”

“…Are you seriously trying to seduce a barbarian warlord?” 

“Why not?” 

“YOU CAN’T JUST SLEEP YOUR WAY THROUGH THE CAMPAIGN.” 

“Roll for it.” 

“Coran you can’t be seri—“

“Nat twenty.” 

“—goddamnit!” 

Coran cleared his throat and moved Shiro’s character toward the towering warrior that was supposed to be their big boss fight for this session. “Lyr’s words have stirred the mighty Vankor. He looks the half-elf bard up and down slowly with a mighty grin. ‘A man with a tongue a sharp as your surely has many talents to claim.’ Vankor leans into Lyr’s space, accepting this challenge.” 

“A bard must be a jack-of-all-trade, m’lord,” Shiro purred and moved his figure on the hollow board to be right up against Vankor. 

“Vankor the Destroyed has been convinced to leave the small town of Tareeth be, retiring to the inn with Lyr in tow.” 

“And this is why you keep a bard around, my dear friends.” 

“Because you’re a big slut?”

“Who the shit is calling’ my fiancee a slut?” Keith had just hip checked the front door open, a huge box of produce from his parents balanced on his hip. The kitchen table was covered in a holo-man, Coran at the control panel. Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Shiro, and Kinkade filled out the rest of the crew, dice and data pads scattered between them. Above the holopad a small version of Shiro in leather armor was making out with what looked like an ogre.

“I am,” Kinkade said, arms folded across his chest.

“Oh that’s all right then.” Keith hauled the box onto the counted and walked over just in time to see the ogre dip Shiro’s character back in passion. “Why ain’t ya’ll at Coran’s?” 

“I’m getting the tiling redone!” Coran chirped. “The Altean Royal standard in tiny ceramic. I can’t wait to show Alfore! You know, he’s supposedly defended from the ancient royal line, not that we’ve followed a monarchy in hundreds of decapheobs.”

“Ah.” Keith stared down as Shiro’s character was carried off into a small inn which started shaking violently. “So why’re you a slut sugar?” 

“I am not a slut!” Shiro stuttered. “I am a bad and I use any means of negotiation I can. I just stopped this guy from decimating a town!” 

“By being a slut,” Kinkade said. 

Keith high-fived Kinkade without looking up from the board. “All right. Color me intrigued. Ya’ll need another player?”

“Well actually since Allura is out we could have you step in just for tonight!” Coran powered up a spare holopad. “What would you like to play? I Ranger? A Wizard? A Rouge?” 

Keith perked at that. “Rouge sounds aight. How do I do this?” 

Coran laid out the rules for him and helped flesh out the character. Shiro watched in trepidation as his fiancee got ready to join their little game.

“All right everyone. The next morning, after a long and complimentary rest as thanks from the town, you collect Lyr and get on your way to the capitol again.” He hit a button on his pad. “All of your stats have been updated with gold and XP. Keith you’ve got a message on yours about your intro.”

“All righty,” Keith said looking down to see the note. 

“Shiro's character may need a limp,” Lance snorted. “If he was doing Vankor all night.” 

Pidge nodded solemnly. “Not sure how well rested we all are either, if we were in the same building as  _ that. _ ” 

“All right!” Shiro barked. “Pike, were you able to glean any information about the siege of the capital?” 

“Negative, you were fucking Vankor too loud,” Lance said with an exaggerated sigh. “But,” he looked down at a notification from Coran. Keith could just about make it out over his shoulder. Lance shoved him away. “No peeking! Ahem, anyway, it looks like it’s Yalst, like we thought! According to rumors Vankor’s men have heard. You get any pillow talk out of him?”

Shiro gritted his teeth. “No, I did not. I was too busy enjoying myself.” 

Coran cut them off, “As you make you way north through the forest you see a figure leaned against a tree on the path. He cuts a dashing figure in a cloak with hood obscuring his face…"

Monsters and Mana turned out to be much more fun than Keith had anticipated. Making up things he would have never said in real life, trying to successfully navigate the things Coran threw their way, only for dice to fail them. He realized how Shiro lost himself to it when they got together once a month, his leadership skills coming through in ways Keith usually saw from afar. Lance was level headed for once as he moved through the game. Hell even Kinkade was more relaxed than Keith had seen him in months. 

The best part though was watching Shiro makeup limericks. Better when one of the characters—usually Lances—said his verses weren’t enough for proper inspiration. 

It was then that Shiro pulled out the old ukulele of Keith’s he’d found one night when they had dinner at his parents. 

“ _ This _ is what you needed that for?” 

Shiro glowered and started to sing an incredibly off tune song about Lance climbing a tree while plucking haphazardly at strings. Keith nearly fell out of his chair. 

“Are you laughing in or out of character, Keith?” Coran asked from over the edge of the table. That made Keith laugh even harder. 

Needless to say Lance was not inspired and fell out of the tree taking two damage. 

“Maybe I’ll sing for you next, X,” Shiro threatened. On the holo-map his character sidled up to Keith’s. 

“Maybe I can think of something else to get inspired by,” Keith purred. Taking advantage of Shiro being slutty was second nature to Keith, not matter the reality. 

“Tell me your name, mysterious Ranger, and I’ll see what I can do—“ 

“Let’s just focus on getting the egg so we can trade with the gnome and get moving, please?” Pidge said sliding down in their seat. “We don’t need more of Shiro flirting with everything vaguely humanoid.” 

Shiro huffed. “Hey! I have standards!” 

“Not in the game you don’t,” Kinkade scoffed. “Pidge is right, you sleep with everything.” 

“I do make him roll for it!” Coran chirped. 

Keith looked down at his data pad. Apparently his character knew how to climb well, according to the message that Coran sent him, and could get the egg. Not to mention a host of other things for later on the in game, giving Keith ample direction and making him pretty necessary for this session to be a success. His character was going to be crucial for this stage, Coran had typed. But his character was also in this for person gain, so they’d have to work to earn his trust. Keith on the other hand would rather make them all squirm. “Roll fer it then.” 

“For what?” Lance asked, still trying to peek over onto Keith’s pad. 

Keith shoved him back by the face. “Seduction,” Keith said. “Lyr manages to seduce X, and I’ll help you get the egg down. I’m a real good climbed says here, but I gotta have some incentive.” 

“Rolling for seduction,” Shiro said grinning. 

“Now, now, now,” Keith said leaning forward. “Just wait here a minute. If I’m lookin’ at this game right I can negotiate this yeah? Well, he’s gotta seduce me. With  _ song _ .” 

Coran’s mustache twitched. “Well… as a player I suppose…” 

Keith leaned back in his chair. “Great. Get crackin’, darlin’, an’ I’ll climb on up there and get yer egg.” 

Shiro fumbled a bit, and the song about X having a nice face sounded very similar to “Shiro’s Mighty Fine Ass” song they made Lance sing on bar nights, but it worked and Keith had his character get the egg. 

Coran very quickly realized his hasty plotting mistake as Shiro was forced to woo Keith’s character through the rest of the session. Kisses and embraces and some very lewd over the clothes acts all leading up to this moment. The rest of the players looked like they wanted to gouge their own eyes out. Keith was inordinately smug. 

“I roll for…” Shiro swallowed and looked up at Keith. “Babe really?”

“God please no,” Lance moaned. “You’ve been at this the whole damn time. I haven’t gotten to stab  _ anything _ .” 

Kinkade looked like something very uncomfortable had crawled up his nose. “Shiro you’re Big Slut, but I think Keith is worse.” 

“Does X want  _ anything _ else? Money? I’m a dwarf I have jewels galore!” Pidge piped up. 

Keith shrugged. “I’ve got the key, an' this is the only way your gonna get it.”  

Shiro dropped the dice. “Thirteen plus… what did we say dex for this? Right so that’s fifteen with my mod.” 

Coran cleared his throat. “Yes, I um, I believe that’s enough for Lyr to suck X’s soul out through his dick.” 

On the board their characters were briefly blurred but the little giggles were not. Pidge made gagging noises and Hunk directed his sorcerer to shield the two’s noises from the rest of the party. 

Keith put his arms behind his head, smirking. “I give Lyr the key when he’s done and thank him kindly for a good old time.”

“Are we done?” Lance half shouted. “Did we do everything with Keith's’ character we needed for this session?” 

“Yes, I believe that wraps it up. X can mysteriously disappear into the nig—“ 

“I take my broadsword and stab X.” Lance started shaking his dice in Keith’s face. 

“Well now just a moment Lance, Keith may want to drop in again—“ 

“NAT TWENTY. X IS DEAD. WE CAN ALL GO HOME.” 

“Well hang on a tick, we need to see what Keith rolls as his save—“ 

“I USE MY BONUS ACTION TO STAB A SECOND TIME.” Lance dropped his dice again. "EIGHTEEN. HE’S DEAD.” 

Keith watched as his character was hacked to bits by Lance’s. “Rude.” 

“YOU TURNED M AND M NIGHT INTO FOREPLAY!” 

Kinkade was guffawing, watching Lance’s character still thwacking X’s corpse. Pidge had subtly had their character join in with a war hammer. Hunk was comforting Shiro’s character who was opening weeping over his partner. 

“Well, having retrieved the Keep Key and… buried what was left of X, you travel on to the capital to rendezvous with Seren were she has been gathering intel.” Coran closed down the holopad. “Good-Good game all. Keith, well done for your, ah, first session.” 

“Keith,” Kinkade giggled, “you broke Coran.”

“You’re not invited back,” Pidge said definitively. “At least not until we make a new campaign where  _ you _ ,” they pointed at Shiro, “are a virginal, celibate, cleric.” 

Shiro gasped and clutched his chest. “Slander!”

Keith pondered that scenario. “So then I’d be seducin’ him, right?” 

“Yeah,” Kinkade cleaned up the rest of his things and shoved them into his backpack. “I don’t think you’re coming back Keith. I’ll see you both tomorrow night. Sailor night ey, ey!” He smacked Shiro’s ass hard as he passed making Shiro yelp. “Don’t forget to stop by that ATM on the way up Keith, I’m expecting at least a cock’s worth of bills in my thong for putting up with this shit tonight.” 

“I’ll bounce a dick’s worth of quarters off your ass cheeks hows that?” Keith helped the others clean up the table, taking down the holomap with Coran. Lance bitched then entire time but Keith couldn’t be assed to pay attention. Shiro was giving him little glances over the table that meant their night was far from over. Keith made a show of licking his lips and pocketing one of Lance’s D20s. Lance could get it back next Thursday. 

Shiro’s eyes widened and he shooed their remaining guests out with haste. “Thank you all for coming, no we are not going to host here again I’ll see you all later drive safe!” 

Pidge squinted at Shiro. “What’s gotten into you? Why are you kicking us out?” 

Hunk put his hand on their shoulder and steered them toward the porch. “Lance was right it was foreplay. We gotta bounce. Yo Kinkade, can I get a ride into town?” 

The screened door slammed and Shiro slammed the front door with it, the sound of the lock felt like it echoed. Keith sauntered up to him and tossed Shiro the die. 

“Whatcha gonna do, bard?” 

Shiro shook the die loosely in his hand. “I’m tell you that you look like sin in those jeans. And I’m gonna hope that it’s enough to get you to take them off.” He dropped the die on the floor. “Seventeen.” 

Keith slid a hand down his chest and popped the buttons on the jeans. They were tight and had rips over the thighs from where he’d leaned over the chicken wire surrounding Shiro’s cherry tomatoes. He was also going commando because he couldn’t have given a shit when he got up from a naked nap earlier before Shiro got home. 

Shiro didn’t know that though, his mouth parting softly when he caught sight of Keith’s half hard cock. Keith reached down and gave it a slow tug. “Now what?” 

Shiro turned around and in a practiced move bent to get the die from the floor, popped his ass out as he did. “I’m going to try and talk you into following me. I’m renown in these parts for my prowess in all physical pleasures, I’d like to share that knowledge with you.” 

Keith left his jeans by the front door. “I’m listenin’.” 

Shiro pulled him up the stairs and into the bedroom. Keith settled on the edge of the bed, spreading his legs wide. His cock was fully hard now, red at the tip. Shiro settled between his knees and let his breath ghost over Keith’s heated skin. There was a muted thud on the carpet and Shiro sighed, the corner of his lip pulling down. 

“What is it?” 

Pressed his mouth against Keith’s cock, lips in a soft pout, “A six. Guess I don’t get you off like this. But I give it a bit of a go anyway.” His hand snaked up to curl tight at the base of Keith, just shy of uncomfortable, and he sucked delicately around the head. 

True to his roll Shiro kept his pressure light, never going down all the way along Keith’s cock, but left suckling kisses against it instead, only mouthing at the head in odd moments that left Keith utterly unsatisfied and groaning.  

“Gimmie the die sugar,” Keith said holding his hand out. Shiro never broke from his light lipped contact as he did what Keith asked. “I roll for tossin’ you on this damn bed and fuckin’ you into a pretzel.” He rolled and didn’t even look to see where it landed. Anything would work, because any amount of getting onto the bed and into Shiro was enough—

“Crit,” Shiro said against his cock. Keith smiled and moved to pull up Shiro’s arms but Shiro tightened his grip on Keith just a hair in warning. “Fail. You rolled a one, baby.” 

Keith choked. “What the blazes does that mean?” 

Shiro smiled like the devil and backed away entirely, standing to shuck off his clothes. “It means you go lay back against the pillows. It means no touching, only watching. Got it?” 

“Yes sir,” Keith said, trying to go along with this, anticipation coiling in his gut. 

Shiro smiled politely and ignored him completely, walking briskly to the bedside table. His cock was bouncing with every step, full and proud standing out against his groomed body. Keith suddenly wanted it in his mouth and reached—only to have his had smacked away. 

“I said no touching. Hands behind your head,” Shiro ordered. He didn’t even look up at Keith, instead fishing around for the lube and pulling it out. 

Keith put his hands behind his head and watched, helpless, as Shiro straddled him on his knees, ass facing Keith. One slow swipe through Shiro’s ass cheeks and Keith knew what was about to happen. 

Shiro started slow, pulling his cheeks apart and just swiping at his hole several times, moaning a little each time. Keith gripped his own hands tight, trying to keep from making any sort of reaction. That got difficult when Shiro leaned over on one elbow and started working a single finger into himself. He was whining and moaning like it was a goddamn porno. The angle of his chest made his pecs brush against Keith’s cock on every other rock forward as that single finger worked its steady way in. 

“How long you gonna do this, Sweet Pea?” Keith grit out between clenched teeth as Shiro pushed a second finger in knuckle by knuckle. 

“You said you were gonna fuck me into a pretzel baby,” Shiro sighed. He only got  _ that _ breathy when Keith was eating out. Bastard was dropping his voice like that on purpose. “But you failed the roll. So now the direct and devastating opposite is gonna happen sweetheart. Ohhhh,” he shoved a third finger in without half of the slow finesse of the first two. 

Keith had to stop gripping his own hands so hard. Claws were starting to come out. 

“Oh fuck, this is good,” Shiro said. In a true feat of flexibility he stretched up from where he’d been kneeled over and used his now free hand to reach behind himself and pour lube directly over his ass, his busy fingers working it in as it drizzled down. The obscene squelch of his fingers was the only sound in the room for a good long while. 

Keith could feel his canine’s cutting into his lower lip as Shiro fucked himself on three fingers for an eternity. Sometimes he’d shove them in hard and fast, crooked right so they were up against his prostate. He cried out then like it was Keith fucking into him, high pitched whines punched out of him like he didn’t damn well know what was coming. 

Keith wasn’t sure if that was worse or when he slowed down. He’d bend himself low, arching his back with his ass high in the air on display, his fingers pulling in and out at an excruciating pace. They would swivel around his hole before diving back in one by one. 

Shiro reapplied lube three times before Keith noticed his legs were shaking. 

“Look at you,” Shiro rasped, his head bent down into his chest, exposing the long line of his spine. “You’re so hard you’re twitching just from being close to me. So hot and red and dripping. Nnhg,” Shiro pulled his fingers out along with a large amount of lube. It dripped down directly onto Keith’s cock. 

He cried out, unable to help himself at this point. “Fuck, fuck Shiro, darlin’,  _ please _ .” 

“Hmm.” Shiro was still hunched over, considering Keith’s cock. A single wet finger dragged up its side and Keith whimpered. “It is a very nice cock. And I’d sure like to come with something in me,” Shiro mused. “Maybe I’ll use it.” 

Without much more preamble lube poured down onto Keith’s cock, messy and almost too much. Shiro’s metal hand, still cooler than the rest of his heated skin, spread the lube up and down, the dual sensation of the lube and metal making Keith growl in the back of his throat. 

“Listen to that,” Shiro giggled. “I think I may have stumbled into bed with a beast.”

“ _ Shiro I swear to god— _ AHHH!” 

Shiro had lined himself up and in a smooth motion sat himself happily on Keith’s cock. “Ohh yes, that’s very nice.” He leaned forward just a bit and began to ride Keith so slowly Keith was sure he was going to lose his damn mind.  

Shiro had lined himself up and in a smooth motion sat himself happily on Keith’s cock. “Ohh yes, that’s very nice.” He leaned forward just a bit and began to ride Keith so slowly Keith was sure he was going to lose his damn mind. 

Shiro squeezed around Keith’s length and ground down, his hips shimming in tight little circles so Keith stayed pressed against his prostate. “Hah, hah, oh fuck yes. You feel so good inside of me, so thick and hot and all mine.” He looked at Keith over his shoulder, eyes half-lidded and blown with pleasure. He squeezed down again. “Fuck. All mine, to use how I want.” 

Keith involuntarily bucked up and Shiro’s eyes slammed shut, a moan ripping its way out of his throat. “That’s right baby, fuck me, fuck me like you should. Just like I want.” 

Keith hitched his knees up, knocking Shiro back a bit, forcing him upright on his knees. The angle changed and Shiro cried out, hands flying back to brace himself by Keith’s sides. 

“Fuck, yeah, Keith.” 

Shiro rode him like that, Keith bucking like a damn bull beneath him and Shiro keeping pace, using his own straining thighs to grind down on Keith’s cock. 

When Shiro started to lose rhythm he shoved Keith’s legs back down and curled over, fucking himself hard on Keith while his hand snaked down to furiously jerk himself off. “Oh fuck-fuck-fuck that’s it I’m gonna, I’m gonna, haaaahhh!” 

Hot spurts of come spashed over Keith’s thighs and Shiro slumped, still letting out tiny moons while Keith pushed up into him. 

“Come for me, baby,” Shiro whispered, looking once more over his shoulder and Keith couldn’t handle it. He ripped his hands out from underneath him, grabbed Shiro’s hips, and trust up into him  _ hard, _ fucking Shiro on his rock hard cock until his balls tightened and he came inside Shiro, his come leaking back out along his still stuttering cock. 

One last jerk and he slipped out, collapsing back against the bed while Shiro remained slumped over Keith’s legs. 

“Fuck, darlin’, that was…” 

“Lance isn’t getting that D20 back.” Shiro wheezed into Keith’s knee. He pressed a sloppy kiss to it. “We’re making rules and we’re keeping that die. I’ll buy him a new set or something but shit, Keith, that was fucking amazing.” 

“Don’t,” Keith panted, “don’t to that thing Pidge was sayin’. Stay slutty, and come home and fuck me like you fuck your enemies.” 

Shiro laughed. “Only if you roll for it.”  


	7. That Time Shiro Only Saw Keith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the anniversary of that fateful lap dance Shiro does something for Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya’ll remember that arial pole dancing video? BECAUSE I SURE AS HELL DIDN’T FORGET.   
> It got sappy at the end but idgaf. Shortest chapter but I wanted it out. 
> 
> All Hail [Buffshiro](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en)/ [Tofuloo](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/).

When Keith had put the pole in for Shiro in the den downstairs he thought he’d get to see a few private shows. To be fair so far he had, but as of three weeks ago he was banned from the room, and if Shiro wasn’t in there he was at the club practicing. Keith wasn’t even allowed to come in some nights right now. He was losing track of the last time he got to watch his fiancée twerk properly. 

The first week or so Keith hadn’t thought too much of it, but it hadn’t been every time that Shiro danced. Now it was and Keith was getting really nervous about what was going on. Shiro was coming back later at night some times, and he spent hours along in the home studio. Eventually Keith got fed up with staring at the closed door and soft beats filtering out and did other things out in town while Shiro holed himself up in the home studio. 

“You’re pouting,” Hunk said. He wiped the counter around Keith, who was half slumped onto it. 

“Am not.” 

Hunk pursed his lips and glared. “You’ve been pushing around that slice of strawberry pie so long you’re disintegrated the actual crust. You have a plate of harassed strawberries and flour that’s lost all structural integrity.” He leaned in close, glaring hard. “You’re pouting, and worse, you’re disrespecting my pie to do it.” 

“The perk of datin’ a stripper is you get to see 'em strip. At _home_  and I’ve been banned not just from that, but from his public shows to boot!” He poked at what was once half a strawberry and now looked like bloody remains of something. 

“Keith,” Hunk sighed, taking the plate away from him. Keith whined and reached for it. “No, if you’re not gonna respect the pie you don’t deserve the pie. But Keith, seriously, you’re not _this_  dense. Hell Lance isn’t this dense. _Coran_  isn’t this dense.”

“I just… I don’t know what’s going on with his self-esteem if he’s not letting me see him. Or what if he thinks now that we’re getting married he needs to separate the parts of his life? Hunk I can’t let… I mean I will if that’s what he really wants but I _love_ watching him dance and—“ 

“Oh my god.” Hunk put his head in his hands. “Lord save me from the idiots in this town. Keith, my buddy, my man, what’s next week?” 

“I don’t know!” Keith half shrieked. He felt like he was going insane trying to figure out what was going on with Shiro. “I just want to know what’s going on. He’s never done this before and I’m really worried, Hunk.”

Hunk stared at Keith with his mouth hanging open. “Keith. Keith _what’s next week_.” 

“I don’t know Hunk! I know it’s not the… mission anniversary and I don’t think he’s lost anyone around this time of year. It’s not an anniversary of ours so _I don’t know_  why don’t you tell me?!” He growled out the last half, chest heaving a bit. 

Hunk was less than impressed at this point. “Yeah no, if you’re going to be this paranoid and stupid I’m not saying anything. Now are you going to respectfully eat a piece of pie or am I kicking you out?”

Keith left to go home and pout with the dogs. 

 

The week passed without any change. Shiro came home late, kissed Keith soundly and let him fuck him into incoherency, but still Keith was banned from watching Shiro. 

He was in the kitchen, tinkering with a broken electric kettle he’d found under the sink, when Shiro sauntered downstairs to head to work. 

“Hey baby,” he purred, coming around behind Keith. He kissed at his neck and ran his hands down Keith’s side. “You coming in tonight?” 

Keith snorted. “Oh, I’m finally allowed?” 

“Yup. Ban is lifted, and I’m really excited to show you why.” Shiro licked a stipe along the shell of Keith’s ear. 

“Are ya now?” Keith muttered. 

“Yes,” Shiro purred. “I know it’s been driving you crazy but it’s for a good reason, I promise. You’ve been so patient with me and can’t wait.” Shiro pulled back and hefted his duffle bag over his shoulder. “8 sharp, don’t be late!”

“Mmm,” Keith didn’t look up from his tools, but he did give Shiro’s cheek a kiss when he offered it. 

Part of him wanted to be petty. Not show up, just stay at home and let Shiro have his stupid secrets. Almost a month of not being able to see Shiro work and now he was allowed to? He grumbled and tried to figure out where the wiring in this damn thing was going wrong, much like the wiring between him and Shiro. A month! He hadn’t seen anything since the end of September and—Keith dropped the screw driver. 

Hunk was right. He was a fucking idiot. 

Keith dove across the table to his phone to check the date and there it was, bright across the screen. October twenty-third. He was twenty-four today. Three years since Shiro had given him a birthday lap dance in a dar backroom. And now he’d spent a month not letting Keith see what he was _practicing._

It was only six which mean Keith had time to get himself presentable and down to the club for whatever Shiro had planned for his fucking _birthday_. Fuck he was a moron. 

He showered at top speed and actually tried to tame his hair into something sensible so it wasn’t poking out wild under his hat. The black one. Shiro loved that one. He pulled out his dark jeans that Shiro had bought just to see how they hugged his ass. His nice flannel too, the red and black buffalo plaid one he loved wearing. It was probably the softest one he owned that wasn’t starting to fray at the edges and Shiro loved nuzzling into it. 

Keith was just dabbing on some cologne when car honk went off outside, the driver not letting their hand up until Keith stuck his head out the bedroom window. 

“WHAT?!” 

“GET IN THE CAR BIRTHDAY ASSHOLE!” Lance shouted back from inside Allura’s Explorer. He was leaning over from the passenger seat, sprawled across Allura’s lap, head just out of the window and elbow over the steering wheel. 

Keith shut the window and raced downstairs. Now that he’d actually put it all together want was coiling deep in his gut. So was shame and embarrassment at forgetting his own damn birthed, but he was focusing on being horny over that. 

He crammed himself into the car, “I’m in love with a stripper” already blasting out of the car speakers. He looked over to Pidge. They grinned like a devil. 

“It’s your song!” They poked Keith’s cheek. “And I’m glad you remember it was your birthday, Hunk was getting worried.” 

Keith groaned and leaned back in the seat, ready for the intense ribbing he was going to get the whole way there. 

 

The club was packed like it usually was, but there was a table set up right in front of the stage. There were streamers and balloons all over it along with a thick layer of glitter that Keith was sure Kinkade had done. The man himself was currently hanging upside down on the pole and winked at them when he caught sight of the group. He flipped over nimbly and slid to the ground, thrusting right at the table and pointed. 

“Front and center Cowboy!” 

Keith put a hand over his face. “I changed my mind. Shiro can show me at home, I’m not sittin’ there.” Even as he said it several pairs of hands were steering him to the table. When he was sat down in a chair directly facing the stage he looked up into a eyeful of Kinkade. The grin on his face said how much he was amused by all of this. He was also unwinding a bright pink boa from around his neck. 

“Got told you need to put this on,” he said, wrapping it around Keith’s neck. 

“You’re a goddamn liar Ryan,” Keith deadpanned through the slightly sweaty smelling feathers. 

Kinkade shrugged. “You still love my ass.” He smacked it for emphasis. “Lover boy will be out soon. He’s getting ready.” Kinkade turned back the stage and started twerking for some part to stage left. 

A few dances later and Keith had been plied with drink. It felt like he was going to come out of his skin waiting for Shiro to come out and when Kinkade’s voice crooned over the crowd he nearly spilled his drink all over himself. 

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and all good peoples here in this club tonight—are you all ready for a treat?” Kinkade just about purred his lines over the sound system and the club went wild. “Well, our own darling Platinum Haired Pole Queen got engaged recently, and he wants to put on a show for his man. We gonna cheer him on folks?” More screaming from the crowd. Keith felt himself turn bright red. “Then get your fucking bills out, your bits ready, and give it up for Shiiiiirooo!” 

The lights died and cheers reached a crescendo. Keith heard stage hands moving things around and a heavy clunk as something clicked into place on stage. There was a muffled okay from someone and then the first notes of a song Keith knew _very well_ started up. 

_Got a bed, with your name on it_

As Nicki started up the verse soft light came on, shining down over the main pole, Shiro leaned against it in a suit—no _a tux_. He had a hand above him on the pole pole and gripped it loosely as he slid down to his knees, his eyes bright as he did. They were lined in gold and there was gold higher all along his cheeks. His legs were spread wide and he drew a hand down his chest to his crotch. He rubbed over the spot a few times, bucking into his palm, lips parting slightly. 

Bills were already flying and Keith knew he’d need to put his hat over his own pants by the end of this. 

Shiro’s hand trailed back up and undid the bow tie at his throat, still thrusting into the air as he did. When he pulled it free he leaned over and crawled to the edge of the stage, eyes never leaving Keith once. He crooked a finger and Keith went forward helplessly. 

He didn’t even fidget as Shiro fit the strip of cloth into Keith’s mouth and tied it behind his head. Wolf whistles went up around them. Keith barely hear them. Shiro was sliding off the stage and into his lap. 

This progressed faster than he’d anticipated. 

Shiro balanced himself over Keith, hips rolling up and up and up. Shiro had one hand braced on Keith’s shoulder and the other was flicking over his belt buckle. He slid the strip of soft leather out while biting at his lower lip, hips stuttering to the lines Nicki was spitting. The moment the leather was free Shiro glanced to be sure the area was cleared and _cracked_ he damn thing behind him. Keith bucked hard but it didn’t deter Shiro. No, he just stood in one fluid motion and before Keith could gather his wits Shiro had used the belt to tie his hands together at the wrists. 

“No touching tonight,” Shiro whispered, “at least not you.” He ran and hand down Keith’s chest and onto his thighs. “I get to touch all I want.” 

And fuck he did. The jacket got slipped off while he leaned back and swirled his hips in Keith’s face, the straining seams of his pants just barely brushing Keith’s lips. His pants went down to his knees when he turned and twerked over Keith’s lap, hitting his dick on the off beat making Keith whine through his gag. 

When Shiro was sprawled over his lap at the end of the song the white button up shirt was open, and a tight, slightly strained black g-string was the only thing keeping Shiro’s cock in place as it bounced with every move. The gold highlighter had been applied all over his body, accentuating the curve of his muscles and the arc of his skin. Keith was certain he was going to die.

Then, before the song could finish up, it faded out and Shiro stepped back to hop up onto the stage, sitting there looking innocent and pretty like he hadn’t just humped his fiancee within an inch of his life. 

Another, softer song started up. 

_Your love is bright as ever_

_Even in the shadows_

Shiro leaned back, leg splayed wide, and reached for the pole. He tugged himself back up onto the stage. He mounted the pole in slow, sensuous moves. The button up flared around him, letting peeks of skin show as he twirled. 

_In the darkest night hour_

_I search through the crowd_

_you face is all that I see_

_I’ll give you everything_

_baby love me lights out_

Each move was an impressive show of strength and form. He leaned back, only his legs holding him onto the pole, and let the shirt slowly slip off and flutter onto the stage. He reached a hand down to steady himself as he spun, one leg reaching up to display himself against the metal. 

_nobody sees what we see_

_they’re just hopelessly gazing_

_baby take me, take me,_

_before they turn the lights out_

_before time is run out_

_baby love me lights out_

Keith was breathless with want and awe. If the lap dance was every filthy thing he and Shiro could do to each other this was a declaration of just how fucking beautiful what they had was. 

Shiro had slid back to the floor and was slowly backing up, each move like a panther prowling in reverse. He made an almost unnoticeable motion to someone offstage. But Keith noticed. He noticed everything about Shiro. 

Which meant he didn’t notice the pole lift from the hole it was positioned into in the stage. 

The music swelled, Beyonce’s voice climbing, and Shiro’s face went from soft to determined. 

_I love you like XO_

Shiro tok off a jog upstage. 

_You love me like XO_

He leapt and grabbed the pole, swinging it around with his weight and started to climb as it too lifted. 

_You kill me boy XO_

The club promptly lost it and Keith’s jaw dropped around the bow tie still in his mouth. Shiro was arching along the pole, spinning midair as he pulled his body into forms Keith didn’t know he could. 

_You love me like XO_

_Is all that I see_

_Give me everything_

_Baby love me lights out_

Shiro stretched horizontally into a split and still was able to pull himself up and hang upside down, graceful as a cat while he did. He kept it up through the song, even as the pole lowered almost all the way back down. 

Keith didn’t want it to end, but it was and Shiro was sliding back down to the stage. His eyes found Keith and he dancing himself back off stage to stand there, sweating and glorious in his thong in front of Keith. 

_You can turn my lights out_

Keith surged up and Shiro pulled the bow tie out of his mouth, landing a searing kiss on Keith’s lips. Keith knew the club was really screaming at this point, bills flying everywhere. In the back of his mind he wondered how the hell they were going to grab them all but the thought left as Shiro’s tongue entered. 

“I love you so fucking much Keith,” Shiro moaned, “Happy birthday baby.” 

“Fuck, ‘Kashi,” Keith chewed his lip and tried to catch his breath against Shiro’s pecs. “ _Please_ tell me you’re gonna take me back home now because I needed to be in you during that _first song_.” 

Shiro chuckled and slyly took a twenty someone was waving at him. “And the second?” 

“ _Fuck,_ ” Keith whined. “You’re so goddamn beautiful.” 

Shiro pecked his lips twice more and bent to collect his pants. Around them Kinkade was fishing up bills and stuffing them in a bright pink birthday bag. Keith waited breathlessly as Shiro helped Kinkade and thanked the patrons praising him on a spectacular show. Once every bill was in that damn bag Shiro took Keith by his belt—which was still around Keith’s wrists—and led him out to the Jeep to the tune of catcalls and wolf whistles. 

Out in the night air Shiro turned around, walking backwards as he pulled Keith with him. “Still pouting about not getting a preview?” 

“Fuck, Shiro,” was all Keith could manage to say. His brain was completely offline, shut down by that performance. Shiro smiled, all feral and sexy, pulling Keith away into the night. 

Thye made it home, somehow, and Keith was tugged up the stairs, still unable to use his hands. Shiro set to work yanking off his pants and swallowing Keith down, manning the whole way. He worked over Keith’s cock slowly, sucking softly at the head before pulling Keith deep into his throat and swallowing hard. Keith was so overwhelmed he didn’t noticed one hand sneaking down underneath Shiro. 

His thighs where shaking when Shiro pulled off with a wet pop, spit and precome trailing in sticky lines between his cock and Shiro’s red mouth. He undid the belt and rubbed at Keith’s wrists. 

“Okay?” He rasped. 

“Yeah. Yes. Takashi _please_.” 

Shiro pulled him up and let him watch as Shiro arranged himself on the bed, arms wrapped under his knees, legs pulled back in a show of flexibility that mirrored the pole dance. He was wet and open and Keith couldn’t resists pressing two fingers in and rubbing against Shiro’s prostate. His mouth watered watching Shiro’s dick twitch as pressed in. 

“Keith, baby, I need you.” 

He wasn’t going to deny that soft begging voice. He pulled his fingers out and shucked off the rest of his clothes. Shiro was still spread open and moaning on the bed right up to Keith pressing his cock slow into that tight heat. 

It was an unhurried pace, pleasure building steadily between them. Keith kept his forehead pressed against Shiro’s, passing open kisses between them as often as breaths punched out of them by the intensity of it all. 

Keith felt the pull in his balls and barely had time to comprehend what was happening before he tensed and came deep in Shiro. When he was done his face was pressed into Shiro’s neck. Shiro was trusting up against his abs and he came when Keith snake a hand between them, breaking Keith’s name like prayer. 

They came down slow, the world still spinning golden between them in the afterglow. 

“Happy birthday my love,” Shiro whispered. He laughed a little. “I’m so glad I gave you that dance three years ago.” 

Keith snuggled in closer, “Me too, Takashi. I love you.” 

 


	8. That Time Keith and Shiro Got Rowdy (GlitterHaw Verse)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Years after Keith fell in love with Shiro, they realize that there may still be something missing, something they didn't know they needed. 
> 
> Now how to get it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL. I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO ROWDY. If you don't know what that is please look at the tags and uh, you'll figure it out. 
> 
>  
> 
> As always All Hail [Buffshiro](https://twitter.com/buffshiro?lang=en)/ [Tofuloo](http://tofuloo.tumblr.com/). Without them this amazing yeehaw community wouldn't have been built, and I couldn't be more grateful.

“I mean, at least you didn’t sleep your way out of the situation for once,” Kinkade said, helping Shiro put the beer glasses away.

They’d had to have M&M night at their place, Coran fearing his newly acquired pet—a Damphyr Bird, native to Altea and incredibly territorial—would try and harm people coming into the house while it was still making itself at home.

Per the “Night of X” of several years past, Keith was banned from playing with them and relegated to watching. He’d not helped Shiro’s penchant for trying to sleep with everything that moved, often egging him on.

“It was a near thing,” Keith said. He was leaning against the kitchen table. Yori was nudging her head against his thigh, trying to beg the jerky in his hand out of it and into her mouth.

Kinkade snorted and stretched, his shirt riding up a bit to show off his abs. “Well, that’s all of it I think. Thanks guys, I’m off to study back at the apartment.” He scooped up his bag and started to make it for the door.

“Ryan, just stay here, I know you’ve already got all your books in that bag. Once you get home you’re going to want to pass out anyway. Stay here and then you can get more studying done and go home in the morning, _after_ Keith has fed you.” Shiro waved a dish towel in his direction like an angry mother. “I know you haven’t been eating right.”

Kinkade looked like he was going to argue so Keith clicked his fingers and pointed. Yori dutifully zapped next to Kinkade and zapped his bag back over to Keith who set it on the table. “You’re staying, deal with it.”

“This is worse than the time you made me eat the celery from the club because you thought wasn’t getting enough vegetables,” he said, glaring at Shiro.

“You weren’t! You were living off of nuggets from McDonald’s!”

“Don’t you judge my nug habits, you kinky ass farmer.” Kinkade was sitting down at the table as he groused, pulling his bag open and fishing around for his laptop.

Keith smiled at the two as they continued to bicker. He hadn’t expected to find close friendship in Kinkade, not after Shiro told him that he and Ryan were fuck buddies before he and Keith had finally gotten together. Kinkade was a fixture in their life now though, someone Keith wasn’t sure he’d know what to do without.

He’d been Shiro’s best man at their wedding, been there for them through hard winters and laid back summers. He was at their house staying over at least two nights a week now, if only for Shiro to be sure that he ate a decent meal between work shifts, his clinicals, and studying.

Keith was more than happy for Kinkade to be around so much, but it was starting to clue him in to things he didn’t realize were simmering in the background.

It had started months ago, and probably long before that, but Keith only really tuned into it recently. Kinkade had always been attractive, but it wasn’t until his face started crop up at…inopportune times that Keith started to examine how he was really feeling. Attraction was one thing, but as time wore on it was proving to be something else stirring in his gut.

He loved watching Shiro take care of Kinkade. He loved how Kinkade was there for Shiro, just as fervently as Keith was, in Shiro’s darker moments. He was kind, but sharp tongued. A steady calm head when the other two were emotional messes. Someone they both went to.

Kinkade needed them too though. Keith all to easily remembered the night Ryan had a breakdown over his exams and getting into the program he wanted. Shiro hadn’t been able to break him out of it, but Keith recognized his own anxiety patterns in Kinkade. He’d taken him outside and yanked out his Marmora blades, the spare ones, not his ceremonial ones, and wordlessly handed them to Ryan. He taught him how to throw, and slowly Ryan came back out of the panic, talking it through with Keith while they chucked knives into a makeshift target.

When they came back in Keith let Shiro talk to him more while he made a mess of strawberry cupcakes. They’d eaten them happily and Ryan had taken he couch that night.

Their own bed, upstairs, had somehow felt cold.

The thing of it was, Keith mused as he watched Shiro and Kinkade banter away, was that he didn’t think Shiro felt much different. He just didn’t know what the hell they should do about it, if anything.

It was later that night, Ryan passed out on the table after Keith and Shiro had done final rounds outside with the plants and animals, that he realized they needed to figure it out. And fast.

Shiro had hauled Ryan up from where he was face first in the textbook he’d been reading and Keith gone to pull out the couch. He was tucking in the bedding they kept stashed for Ryan when the two stumbled in, Kinkade had draped over Shiro, muttering under his breath.  

“Is he awake?” Keith asked, shaking out the blanket.  

“No,” Shiro snorted. “At least not really. Are you buddy?”  

“M-I’mma… with...mitro valve…” Kinkade’s head lolled a little bit and Shiro readjusted his grip. “Yeah, he’s still out.” Ryan was deadweight in Shiro’s grasp, but they got him into the bed and tucked in.  When Shiro moved to the end of the bed and rucked up the sheets Keith frowned.  

“What’re ya doin’ sugar?”  

“Hmm? Oh his feet get hot when he sleeps, so he hates sleeping with socks on,” Shiro said, gently tugging the offending clothing off Ryan and tucking his feet back in under the blanket. “There.” The soft fondness in his voice was unmistakable.

The sight of it made Keith’s heart ache. “Shiro.”

Shiro looked up, face tender and open until he saw Keith. His mouth parted and his eyes darted to Ryan’s sleeping form. “Baby, no, I—”

Keith shook his head and held a finger to his lips. Shiro looked terrified but Keith knew they couldn’t have this conversation with _Ryan right there_. He made for the stairs and Shiro followed, his tension filling up the space around them.

The dogs were on the bed, sprawled out, but at the sight of their owners they scampered to their own beds except Yori, who took some bodily shooing.

“Keith,” Shiro tired again, voice creaking with emotion. “Please… I don’t.”

Keith took his husband’s hands in his and pulled him down to the bed. “It’s okay, sugar.” He laughed quietly, squeezing Shiro’s hands. “It’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it?” Shiro asked quietly, sounding broken. “Because I know what you must think it is. And Keith it isn’t. It’s you, it’s always been you—”

“Shiro, Shiro _slow down_ darlin’,” Keith laughed. “It’s not just you. Shiro, it’s me too.”

“I can’t even fathom be unfai—what?” Shiro’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean you too?”

Keith bit his lip. “Look, you’re right, I noticed. And it’s not like I didn’t suspect it some, ya know?Best friend fuck buddies are going to have emotions between ya’ll even if you don’t mean to. And it was never somethin’ I was worried about. Never.” He titled forward and kissed Shiro. “But the more I’ve been gettin’ to know Ryan, the more I get it. And I think… I think he fits, darlin’.”

Shiro was looking at Keith with shining eyes. Disbelief and wonder colored his grey irises. “Keith, are you… do you mean?”

“I mean I think we’re both fallin’ in love with yer best friend babe,” Keith said with a laugh. It felt good to say it out loud after months of wading through these emotions.

Shiro kissed Keith, fierce and all teeth. “How. _How_ are you not freaked out by this?”

“It’s not a new concept Shiro,” Keith said. “Poly partners are all over the place. Triads are also pretty common among Galra. It isn’t that hard to fathom really. I just wanted to be sure before I brought anything up. Attraction and lust aren’t the same thing as love ya know.”

“And you do?” Shiro asked. “You do think you love him too?”

Keith thought about the morning he and Ryan spent animatedly talking about Galran biology, or the time Shiro had sprained his ankle, nearly breaking it, and they both had taken shifts helping Shiro worth through recovery. They’d also taken turns sitting on him so he didn’t reinjure it.

There was when Ryan had decided that when he was over he was responsible for the rabbits, because he fucking loved them. Or when he didn’t have a million mounds of homework and helped Keith bake. How he indulged in Shiro’s nerd culture when Keith just wanted to be spared three hour rants on Game of Thrones for one whole month.

And when he watched them dance together… nothing made him want to burst into his Galra tendencies more than thinking about satisfying them _both_.

“Yeah,” he breathed. “Yeah, Shiro, I’m sure.”

 

They decided to bring it up later, not right away. They needed to feel Ryan out and make sure that this wouldn’t kill the friendship they already had.

That said, the next morning over pancakes and bacon and coffee that was a little too strong neither of them could keep up the ruse.

“Okay,” Ryan said, putting his fork down. “Okay what the actual fuck is going on? You two are acting like teenagers that accidentally crashed their dads car drunk.”

“Nothing!” Shiro immediately squeaked.

Keith glared at him from across the table. “Not _nothing_.” He sighed. “We didn’t want to have this conversation with you so soon.”

Ryan slowly put his fork down, face dropping into something cold and professional. “I see.” He swallowed and pushed back from the table a little bit. “I had hoped it wasn’t… obvious. But I guess that was too much to hope for.” He let out a small rueful laugh. “I’m sorry if I made things uncomfortable, or strained with you two. It was never my intention.” He licked his lips and looked at Keith. “Do you mind if I stay in Monsters and Mana? And come on Thursdays? I know it’s selfish but I don’t want to lose either of you from my life even—even if it’s what you need. And that’s… look I’m sorry, I just don’t want to lose you both totally.”

The facade was cracking, Ryan starting to choke on his words.

Shiro’s chair scraped back and he went to kneel by Ryan. “Ry… what… what are you talking about?”

“More importantly what do you think _we’re_ talking about?” Keith’s heart was up in his throat. Somehow this had gotten turned on its head and he wasn’t sure where he needed to turn it back. He got up too, hovering behind Shiro.

“I,” Ryan took a breath to steady himself. “Look. I know you two, and I know how devoted you are and I never, _never_ wanted to tread on that. It’s why I backed off once you two got together. I knew that my feelings for Shiro weren’t what you two had, or… or at least that’s what I thought. But being away hurt too much so I figured I’d just suck it up. Be there for you however I could,” he said to Shiro. “But what I didn’t expect was you, Keith.” He looked up, golden eyes shining. “I didn’t expect to fall for you, too. And I am so sorry. Me being here all the time is just my selfish way of being close to the both of you. And if that’s causing issues, and making you uncomfortable, I get it. You don’t have to explain anything. Either of you.”

Shiro was opening and closing his mouth like the blubbering gay disaster train he was. Keith should have expected that. He cleared his throat and stepped in over what was turning into a true Shiro whimper. “Ryan we, I, ah,” he cleared his throat and tried again,“Ryan I think you’ve misunderstood what we meant. And I think perhaps you were as good at hiding how deeply you were feeling as you had hoped.”

Ryan’s eyes widened a bit, but other than that his features remained guarded and cautious. “Then what were you talking about, Keith?”

Keith chewed his lip. “Well,” he rolled the words around in his mouth but nothing seemed to sound exactly right. So he just ripped it off. “We’re both in love with you. We’ve known, been realizing really, for a while and we finally talked about it last night. We wanted to feel you out a little bit more before we broached the subject but,” Keith laughed, “well, cats out of the bag on all ends, I guess.”

Shiro took Ryan’s hand and kissed the back of it. “I didn’t realize how much I missed you until you started coming around again.”

“I think I was doomed from the moment you did the spinning Russian splits to Rihanna on Sailor Night,” Keith said with a far-off look. “But really, Ryan, you’re very easy to fall in love with. I don’t think this first year of marriage would have been half as smooth if you hadn’t been around to even us out, you know.” He let his hand reach out to put on Ryan’s cheek, waiting until Ryan leaned into the touch. “We fit,” Keith said softly, “the three of us.”

A tear leaked out of Ryans eye. “Thank fuck,” he whispered. “I was so scared I could lose you both at any second.”

Shiro leaned his head on Ryan’s thigh, “Yeah, kind of the opposite, darling.”

“We’re fixin’ to keep you,” Keith said.

Ryan sucked in a shaky breath and leaned further into them both. “I do _not_ want to go to the clinic today.”

Keith smiled. “We know, trust me. But go, be amazing, and then come home?”

Ryan swallowed. “Home. Yeah. Yeah I’ll stop by the apartment and come… come home.”

“We’re gonna need a bigger bed,” Shiro said in mild shock.

They all burst into laughter.

 

Ryan got out of the house, eventually, but only after soundly kissing them both breathless and many, many backwards glances. He was grinning like a loon the whole time.

Once he was out of the driveway Keith was bolting into the living room to gather the things Ryan usually left there. He stopped halfway though tugging the spare clothes out of the basket next to the couch. Hell even some of Ryan’s jewelry was in there. “Fuck we’re slow,” he muttered, yanking it all out.

“Babe, did you know he had a full bathroom moved in down here?” Shiro called out, slightly panicked sounding. Keith groaned.

“Yeah, I know. We’re idiots darlin’, but let’s get it all righted before he gets back tonight?”

Shiro peeked around the corner. “Do you think it would be presumptuous to go pack up that postage stamp of an apartment he has and bring it back here?”

“Shiro.”

“What? I still have a key.”

“ _Shiro_. That’s… that _is_ too fast, let’s just get the things he already has here settled.” He leaned back on his heels, arms full of Ryan’s things. “Like that bed you and I have been eyeing since our honeymoon.”

“You mean the one we realized could actually take you going whole hog Galra and obliterating my ass? Unlike the currently bent-to-hell-steel frame?”

Keith frowned. “Yes, that. Do we have the money for it?”

“I think so,” Shiro said. “I got that commission work for the beautification project around city hall, remember? We put half in savings but you said you wanted to blow the rest on something fun.”

“New bed is fun,” Keith mused. “New reinforced bed is really fun.”

Their eyes met over the couch and they scrambled upstairs to where they had both left their phones.

They had calls to make.

 

The house and the bed and the setup had taken the entire damn day, especially with the dogs getting caught up in all of the excitement.

Keith was barely finishing up a hasty dinner of pasta when Ryan walked in the door, exhausted but giddy. He walked in briskly and stopped short just in front of Shiro, nerves suddenly there.

Shiro had no such reservations and kissed Ryan within and inch of his life. At the stove Keith burst into laughter. “This is gonna be ridiculous,” he said, stirring the almost done pasta.

Ryan pulled away from Shiro with an obscene smack and stalked over to Keith. He kissed his neck first then tiled his head so he could stick his tongue down Keith’s throat proper.

When he finally let Keith go both of their eyes were glazed. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”

Keith ducked in for another peck to Ryan’s soft lips. “Yes,” he whispered, “pretty sure I have, darlin’.”

Ryan shuddered at the endearment.

“Can we eat?” Shiro asked from the table. “Because I kind of want to get some carbs in me before I get one of you in me.”

Keith snorted and Ryan thunked his head on Keith’s shoulder. “Subtle, Shiro.”

The interaction, the intimacy felt so causally normal it made Keith dizzy.

“You just tongue fucked my husband, Kinkade. I’m so hard I could cry right now.”

“That makes three of us,” Kinkade said with a peek down at where Keith as starting to tent too. Keith looked down at the pasta, which was done, and then back at the two men with hunger burning in their eyes. He made an executive decision.

Grabbing the pot Keith dumped the paster into the colander in the sink. In quick succession the pasta and the sauce on the stove were shoved into tupperware and crammed into the fridge.

“Pasta’ll reheat,” he ground out, grabbing both Ryan and Shiro, hauling them upstairs.

“Dessert before dinner then?” Ryan asked.

“Oh fuck yes,” Shiro breathed, picking up his pace.

The tumbled into the room together, Ryan stopping short at what he saw. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “You two weren’t kidding were you?”

The California king took up almost the whole room, but they made it work. The headboard was deep set, with cubbies and a wide shelf jutting out above it. Keith and Shiro’s things were already there, along with the things Ryan would always keep on the coffee table when he came over.

Ryan stepped forward and reverently trailed his fingers over the shelf. “Of fucking course Shiro is in the middle.”

“He’s a heat suckin’ cuddle whore,” Keith deadpanned.

“He is,” Ryan agreed. “Can you both come here, please? I’m not good with this much emotion in one fucking day.”

Shiro went first, pulling Ryan into his arms and kissing him sweetly. He devested Ryan of his lab coat and shirt as he did. Keith came next, kneeling on the bed and guiding Ryan’s pants and boxers down off his legs. His cock bobbed free, hard and thick. Keith felt his mouth water at the sight.

Shiro tilted Ryan’s head away so he could mouth at his neck. “Hung isn’t he?” he said.

Keith hummed in agreement.

Ryan reached down and pushed a hand through Keith’s hair, eyes bright with want. “Lemme see.”

Keith straightened up and slowly peeled himself out of his clothes. Ryan had never seen him, he realized. Shiro and Ryan had fucked. Keith had watched them both strip. But Ryan had not seen Keith that that sent a deep thrill through him as he exposed himself to the other man.

Ryan raked his eyes over Keith’s body as the clothes came off. When Keith finally slid off his jeans and underwear Ryan’s eyes widened.

“Jesus you’re a size queen Shiro,” he muttered.

“It gets bigger when he goes Galra,” Shiro said, looking over his shoulder to ogle his husband. “So fucking thick.”

Ryan’s eyes were blown with want. Keith could feel it like fire in his veins. He stalked forward and pushed in between them, kissing Ryan hard and letting his teeth get just this side of sharp as he did. Ryan gasped and Keith reached down to take their cocks in hand.

“Oh _god_ ,” Ryan moaned. They continued to rut against each other, exploring territory they’d both dreamed of but never thought they would have.

Shiro, content to watch the show, leaned back on the bed and lazily stroked himself while his husband and his love got filthy with each other.

Keith leaned down and gently took one of Ryan’s piercings in his teeth and tugged. In his hand Ryan’s cock twitched against his.

“He’s a slut for getting his nipples played with,” Shiro said.

“Says—ah—the messy cock whore. Nngggh,” Ryan said. He threaded his fingers through Keith’s hair to keep him there.

“Mm, guilty.” Shiro flopped over and reached into one of the cubbies above the new bed and fished out the lube. “Wanna be a whore for your cock. Haven’t had it in so long…”

Keith gave Ryan’s nipple one last tug and pulled back. “I like that. You speared on his cock, all filled up and needy while you suck my dick.” He was pleased with the whine that ripped out of Shiro’s throat.

Ryan groaned. “You suggesting we spit roast him Keith?”

“I am Ryan, I am.”

Shiro’s eyes bugged out of his head and he scrambled to get into position for his boys. All fours, ass out, pout on.

Ryan shook his head and crawled onto the bed, circling around to Shiro’s ass. “God I forgot what a cockslut he is.”

Keith settled against the head of the bed, legs open and waiting for Shiro to fall between them. “He really is though. C’mon darlin’, while Ryan opens you up.”

Shiro shuffled forward, cock bobbing between his legs as he moved. He fell on Keith’s dick like it was the best ice cream he had ever had in his life, licking and suckling all around it, getting Keith drenched in his spit and spreading Keith’s precome.

“You’re suck a little fucking tease,” Keith said. He pushed a hand into Shiro’s hair and gripped.

Behind them Ryan was fucking two fingers into Shiro, steadily pressing against his prostate as he did. Shiro moaned around Keith’s cock each time.

Ryan poured more lube over Shiro’s hole and wiggled a third finger in. “That’s it sweetheart, take it.”

“Unhgg,” Shiro moaned, Keith’s dick resting against his cheek. “Ryan, _please._ ”

“Please what?” Ryan asked and smacked Shiro’s ass.

Shiro shuddered. “Fuck me, please. Ryan please, it’s been so long, please.”

“What do you think Keith? Should I give it to him?”

Keith looked down at his husband. Shiro’s eyes were half lidded and clouded over with lust. Lips puffy and split slick, a flush covering most of his body. Keith carded a hand through his hair.

“If he swallows me down like a good boy, I think he might deserve a little dick,” Keith said.

Shiro choked Keith down in an instant making Keith shout and groan long and low. Ryan chuckled and pulled his fingers out with an obscene squelch. He poured more lube over Shiro’s hole and then over his cock, slicking it over. When he pressed the tip to Shiro’s already abused rim Shiro moaned, the vibrations making Keith want to melt into the sheets. He did a little bit.

Ryan pressed in inch by inch, both partners feeling the slow slide. Shiro whimpered around it, wiggling his ass and trying to get Ryan to go faster. Each thrust in had Shiro’s mouth vibrating around Keith so deliciously he wasn’t sure how long he was actually going to last.

When Ryan was all the way in he draped himself over Shiro’s back and peppered kissed over his shoulders. “Fuck, Shiro, you feel so fucking good. Jesus I forgot how much your ass was made for cock.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Keith panted. Shiro was determined to suck his soul out through his cock tonight. There were stars sparking behind Keith’s eyes. “Fuck him Ryan, please, he’s—ahh, _fuck_ —he’s gonna kill me.”

“Nhhg,” Ryan said eloquently. He started up a punishing rhythm, filling Shiro up and splitting him open. Every rock of Ryan’s hips send Shiro forward, fucking his mouth on Keith’s cock. He choked and sputtered around it, only pulling off to suck in greedy lungfulls of air when he absolutely had to.

When he did his head flopped onto Keith’s thigh and his body just shuddered back and forth as he was fucked on Ryan’s dick. Keith stroked his cheek, through the spit and precome resting there, and popped his thumb into Shiro’s mouth.

“So good for us,” Keith praised. “So pretty and fucked. You like this don’t you darlin’? You love it. Holes filled up by us, getting used by us.”

“Wanted it for so long,” Shiro slurred. Behind him Ryan started thrusting in faster, his grip on Shiro’s hips bruising.

“Get him off, Shiro,” Ryan commanded. “Make your husband come.”

Keith guided Shiro back onto his cock and smiled. “Good boy, thats it. Fuck yourself on us Shiro. Get our boyfriend off too, I want you to milk every last drop out of his cock into your greedy hole.” Keith glanced up at Ryan at the use of the word boyfriend. Ryan’s face was pure pleasure, eyes growing soft for a moment at the term. He was their boyfriend. It sent a thrill through Keith.

Apparently it did through Shiro too. He hummed around Keith’s cock, the vibrations and emotions all around him finally making him crest. He came with Shiro’s name on his lips and his hand fumbling to grasp Ryan’s.

Shiro sucked and milked him until every last drop was lapped up. Even after he pulled out, some come leaking from his open lips, he did his best to lap it back up off of Keith’s oversensitive dick.

Ryan’s thrusts had grown erratic, the scene before him doing him in. It wasn’t long before he sunk himself home in Shiro, filling him up with spend.

Keith reached down and got Shiro off in quick, tight strokes. Shiro was so keyed it up it only took a handful of them for him to come long and hard all over the bed.

Keith was glad they’d had the foresight to put the old comforter down in case this happened.

They collapsed in a heap of sweaty limbs and errant drops of come. Shiro ass was leaking out everything Ryan had given him in slow drips that Keith dragged his fingers through. He licked them off one by one while Ryan watched.

“I’m never going to get through a single night with you two, am I?” Ryan asked, his cock already trying to respond to the sight of Keith kittenishly licking his come off of his fingers.

Keith smirked. “Shiro isn’t the only insatiable one here, love.”

Ryan laughed incredulously and dropped down onto the bed. “I’m going to die by sex fiends.”

“Nice was to go,” Shiro murmured, fucked out and sleepy.

It ended up being Keith who got up to get some washcloths to wipe themselves off with. While he got the water warm Ryan managed to cajole Shiro into getting up long enough to change the duvet. Keith cleaned them all up when he got back and they piled back into bed, a mess of limbs.

Shiro looked the most content Keith had possibly ever seen him. He was cuddled into Keith’s chest, back to him, and cushioned half on Ryan’s chest.

“I love you both so much,” Shiro whispered, clearly on his way to passing out.

“I love you too,” Ryan said adoringly. “You too, pretty boy.” He looked up at Keith and drew a finger along his cheek. “Thank you both, this is… I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I love Shiro, and I love you Ryan,” Keith said. “Besides, if we don’t keep things a little rowdy this one will never be satisfied.”

Ryan snorted and kissed Shiro’s forehead. “All for this one.”

Keith smiled and pressed his mouth to Shiro’s shoulder. “Always.”


End file.
